Chinese workers for N.Z. projects?

Press, 9 May 1981, Page 26

Chinese workers for N.Z. projects?

NZPA staff correspondent Hong Kong New Zealand should investigate the possibility of employing Chinese labour on some of its development projects, according to the president of Fletcher Challenge Holdings, Sir James Fletcher.

He said that the suggestion might not be practical politically or in terms of Federation of Labour sensitivity but it was an idea that should not be dismissed.

Sir James was speaking in Hong Kong, where he attended a meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council. He has just spent two weeks in China with a multi-national team of top businessmen. It was his first visit to China and while there he discussed the possibility of Fletcher Construction joining with the Chinese in off-shore construction work.

He said that such cooperation could involve either the employment of Chinese labour on Fletcher projects overseas or the supply of materials for jobs which the Chinese were doing outside China.

Asked whether co-opera-tion could extend to employing Chinese labour in New Zealand, he said, “I think it has to be something that should be looked at.” New Zealand trade-unions had accepted Japanese working on Auckland Harbour Bridge extensions and Italian labourers had been involved for years on the Tongariro project.

“In the past when there have been these big projects that have required the importation of labour New Zea-

land has been competitive in as much that either the wage rates were slightly higher or the general conditions for that particular job added up to a take-home pay that was superior to what was available in, say, Britain or Australia at a particular time. Today that doesn’t apply. “To bring labour from our traditional sources almost certainly means paying a lot more for it than the current rates in New Zealand. It would be highly inflationary. So therefore it could be attractive, I would think, to consider bringing Chinese in where the rates and conditions would not create an inflationary situation.” Sir James said that he had

discussed prospects for offshore work with the China Construction and Engineering Corporation. Co-operation could take various forms, including joint venture or the hiring of labour. The corporation had about 80,000 Chinese in its overseas workforce and was quite willing to hire out labour to a foreign contractor.

Sir James said, “that’s very important to us because we don’t really have a transportable bulk workforce from New Zealand. We would supply supervisory people only.” Sir James said that in Iraq Fletcher Construction was using Filipino labour to build houses for the Iraqi Air Force. “We could use Chinese labour for that type of thing. In fact they (the Chinese) told us they have 5000 to 8000 workmen in Iraq themselves at the moment.” Sir James said that when working off-shore the corporation could order materials direct rather than through a Government ministry and Fletcher Challenge could become a supplier of materials such as timber and steel bars in such circumstances. A team of executives from the group would visit Peking soon to discuss the opportunities to work together. Officials of the corporation were extremely receptive to the idea of co-operation.

Sir James said, "they have access to some areas, of course, where we wouldn't and we would be a more natural tenderer for work in places like Papua New Guinea or Samoa.”

Fletcher challenge was already involved in selling newsprint, kraft pulp, reinforcing steel rods, and wire rods to China and had an indirect involvement in a model beef farm being developed in China by New Zealand interesenderer for work in places like Papua NewGuinea or Samoa.”

Fletcher challenge was already involved in selling newsprint, kraft pulp, reinforcing steel rods, and wire rods to China and had an indirect involvement in a model beef farm being developed in China by New Zealand interests. It bought from China wax for particle-board manufacture and it was looking at material which could be used for wrapping lamb carcasses.

On the construction side Fletcher was looking at a number of opportunities, which included hotels in scenic spots. The preference of the Chinese seemed to be a compensatory type of deal where Fletcher would be expected to provide all the finance and then have to recover it. Sir James said, “our people have introduced to them the idea of time-shar-ing on the basis that this has particular relevance in China, where much of the vested interest stems from the overseas Chinese.

“Therefore they could be attracted to the idea of providing hotel or motel accommodation — financing it — on the basis that it gave them one or more units which would be available for their own use when they visited China and apart from that would be a practical investment itself.”