The Zoom call with about 200 harvest workers, Marlborough employers and government officials, on June 17, was intended to update workers whose visas were about to expire. Most harvest workers were on an essential skills visa, which linked them to their employer, job title and region. Workers could reapply for a visa, but the harvest worker said they were told at the meeting the chances of having it approved were slim. Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens said they had advocated for a change in the immigration policy to allow overseas workers to continue to work, for some time. Scott Hammond/Stuff Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens said Immigration NZ's "one size fits all" policy was wrong and that the visa conditions should be loosened.

Source: Stuff June 28, 2020 18:00 UTC