Shorten business hours and make less money! The new immigration policy in New Zealand makes cafes complain

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Heeps's coffee shop has 12 employees, including immigrants and local employees, five of whom have resigned. Wastage is a headache for him, and he is trying to fill the manpower gap, but it is not easy.

The introduction of the new immigration policy has had an impact on many catering businesses that rely on immigrant employees. A cafe in Oakland has had to shorten its business hours to cope with a shortage of staff due to the departure of immigrant employees.

The cafe is called Olaf's, Artisan Bakery Cafe, located in Mount Eden Village. Co-owner Robert Heeps said several employees had to resign and leave Auckland to work in other cities in New Zealand in order to earn more points because they did not meet the provisions of the new immigration rules.

According to the plan, the new immigration policy will be launched on August 14, and the category of skilled immigrants will be adjusted. Heeps's coffee shop has 12 employees, including immigrants and local employees, five of whom have resigned. Wastage is a headache for him, and he is trying to fill the manpower gap, but it is not easy.

Due to the shortage of manpower, Olaf's Cafe can only shorten its business hours. He said that New Zealand locals are not willing to work in the catering industry, resulting in a serious shortage of employees and the need to hire immigrants.

Under the new immigration rules, skilled migrants are required to earn more than NZ $49000 a year, below which they will not receive any points. But in 2015, the government changed the scoring system to encourage skilled migrants to work and settle outside Auckland, which earned an extra 30 points.

Olaf Cafe is looking for a new chef, and Heeps says it has received only 10 applications so far, but expects to receive 60 before the new immigration policy is announced. He said immigrants are more willing to accept jobs in the catering and hotel industry than local residents because they can endure hardships and can cope with long hours and overtime on weekends and holidays.

Heeps hopes that Olaf Cafe will continue to provide a high standard of service, but it will not be easy to maintain because there are not enough people.

"as local employees are only willing to work from Monday to Friday, we can only shorten business hours." He said that this is also a helpless move.

Olaf's Cafe used to be open for business:

Monday to Friday, 06:30 to 06:30

Saturday and Sunday, 7: 00 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m.

But now, the closing time has been advanced to 4: 00 p.m.

Heeps said the change in immigration policy was too sudden and unlikely to be effective. He does not believe that after the implementation of the policy, a lot of jobs will be vacated for local people. And it has had a big impact on the catering industry.

"the whole industry is in fear of a shortage of staff." He said.