Mayor fears workers being 'robbed' for hospital rebuild

Bryan Cadogan. Photo: ODT files

A Southern mayor is worried the Dunedin Hospital rebuild may be "robbing" neighbouring districts of already limited workforces.

Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan said yesterday there was an absence of a "region-wide approach" to workforce planning for the $1.4billion rebuild project that could end up as a "lose-lose" for all parties.

Mr Cadogan, who sits on the Otago Workforce Development Committee charged with finding up to 1000 staff for the rebuild, said he had been surprised to learn a representative of the committee’s Workforce Central Dunedin Job and Skills Hub was canvassing for workers in the area on Tuesday.

This was despite the Clutha District Council running the latest of its own Jobbortunities job fairs in Balclutha on Tuesday night, he said.

"As a committee member and as a district, we’re right behind the rebuild, which will be transformative for everyone in the South.

"But because of the well-documented labour shortages in the South, I’ve been saying since day one that we need to look at the issue with a wider lens, and take a region-wide perspective, or even a New Zealand-wide perspective, to ensure we don’t stack up one workforce at the expense of another.

"To learn the workforce hub was down in Balclutha looking for workers on the same day as our own job fair was quite a surprise, to say the least.

"We just feel the life-changing chance this project could give many locals is not being properly maximised.

"We would have welcomed the hub’s delegation at our fair, and a more collaborative effort all round."

Mr Cadogan questioned the efficacy of the committee’s approach to date, led by Southern District Health Board chairman Pete Hodgson.

"There’s simply too much at stake here.

"It would be criminal if we ended up having to import a workforce from overseas for the rebuild, simply because we failed to take that broader perspective from the outset."

Mr Hodgson said he agreed with some of Mr Cadogan’s comments, although he denied the absence of a co-ordinated approach.

"When we began, we looked in detail at projected labour demand throughout Otago-Southland for the next 15 years, and based our strategy on the results of that study.

"The hospital is coming, ready or not, and we need to acknowledge the labour market will move around as it sees fit.

"I’m confident no-one would suggest we pause the rebuild because other employers are also seeking staff at the same time."

Mr Hodgson acknowledged it was "unfortunate" neither party had communicated its intentions regarding overlapping recruitment drives this week.

"This isn’t a competition. We’d love to hear of future events of this sort, anywhere in the South."

Similarly, he was concerned about the possibility of having to recruit overseas workers to make up any shortfall in project staff.

The committee and its new hub were working to identify and harness existing, untapped pools of labour from within New Zealand, he said.

"We want to signal to young people, people eager to re-enter the construction workforce, women and disabled people that there will be construction opportunities in Otago-Southland for a long time both during and following the hospital project.

"This is a choice to join a long-running boom, whether you’re from Clutha, Dunedin or anywhere else in the South."

richard.davison@odt.co.nz