Tuesday, January 08, 2019



Another "labour shortage"

Hawke's Bay apple growers are whining about a seasonal "labour shortage" and demanding they be subsidised by immigrant labour again. But the "labour shortage" is illusory - its not that there is a shortage of people to do the work, but a shortage of people willing to do it (in the hot, hot sun, in the middle of nowhere, with no job security etc) at the price employers are willing to pay. Which suggests an obvious solution: if apple growers want people to pick their apples, they should offer more money. Otherwise the fruit can and should just rot on the trees.