Coronavirus: The cruel impact of Covid-19 on jobs, livelihoods in south Auckland

Friday, 15 May 2020

The coronavirus crisis will leave the country in deficit and debt for the next decade.

Jay walks along Ōtara's Baird Road, passing families taking groceries out of the car boot, bags and bags of groceries, maybe a few hundred dollars worth.

She envies them.

All she had left until payday was $30, that bought bread, milk, Weetbix, butter, and fruit, at the local supermarket.

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She promised her eldest son a treat, it was his birthday on Monday, but there was nothing leftover.

She's not sure when she'll be able to treat them next.

In just over a week, Jay will be jobless.

After two decades of service at Auckland Airport, Jay will be one of hundreds of cabin crew to lose their jobs, a cruel consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With a mortgage, two young children, and an elderly mother to take care of, she's desperate for anything.

She's applied for work at orchards, early childhood centres, cleaning companies, and supermarkets.

With a limited skill-set, her options are few.

And with thousands of other new job seekers, her chances are slim.

Jay, who has asked for her last name not to be used, has been on her own with the children for more than 10 years. She left an abusive relationship and her mother moved in to help care for the children.

Auckland International Airport has turned into a ghost town as flights in and out of New Zealand grind to a halt.

Two years ago, her mother fell ill and Jay took on her finances, too.

'I would describe myself as part of the working-poor,' Jay said.

'We could afford all the basics, but there was never much left for extras, like takeaways or gifts or anything.

'It was OK though because it wasn't forever, my boys would eventually finish high school and move out and I'd have a big chunk of the mortgage paid off

'And I loved my job, I love my job. It's crushing to know after all these years, that's it. That's the end.'

Jobs and livelihoods lost

Like hundreds of other employers across the country, Air New Zealand has been forced to lay off staff.

But for a business that's invested heavily in its community, it's a huge blow for south Auckland.

The airline is flying just five per cent of its usual international schedule and is in the process of laying off 950 full-time cabin crew across its Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 fleets.

It has already cut 300 pilot jobs, despite collecting more than $70 million in wage subsidies and being granted a $900 million government loan.

Covid-19 has had a severe impact on Auckland Airport that only a few months ago seemed unimaginable, General Manager Corporate Services Mary-Liz Tuck, said.

A big part of that commitment to the community was tied up in long-term projects.

The vast majority of the airport's multi-billion-dollar infrastructure development programme has been deferred.

Thousands of laptops were sent home during lockdown, however, not all kids received them (file pic).

In 2015, and in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, Ara Auckland Airport Jobs & Skills Hub was set up, targeted at providing jobs and training for south Aucklanders.

In the past two years, the hub provided 425 jobs in and around the airport.

Of that number, 351 lived in south Auckland, and more than 100 came off a main benefit.

Over the same period, almost 2000 people completed training courses, and about 150 local secondary-school students graduated from a year-long work experience programme.

But the impact of Covid-19 has rapidly slowed the momentum.

The start of alert level 4 saw 95 per cent of job advertisements and training opportunities pulled.

Two years after Ara was set up, the hub started engaging with local high schools.

That pastime is now at jeopardy, with industries such as hospitality, and tourism too, taking a huge hit.

And with students returning to the classroom next week, schools are scrambling to find other options.

Neil Watson is the principal at Ōtāhuhu College.

Of the 950 students enrolled, he's not sure how many will return.

Kia Aroha College principal Haley Milne.

Some have taken up jobs to help their parents put food on the table.

Even before Covid-19, he knew of students working nights stacking supermarket shelves to help their families, and then going to school the next day.

'We've tried to help families where we can but that’s probably going to be a reality for some students.

'It's tough to challenge that, because in the short term they need food on the table, but there are long term consequences of that, of not getting an education.'

About 140 Year 12 and 13 students at the college take part in work experience and skills training each year, including with Ara.

The past several weeks have been spent organising students' return to the classroom, but Watson said they will also need to urgently meet with careers staff.

The forgotten kids

Back in Ōtara, Kia Aroha College principal Haley Milne is also preparing for her students to return.

Traditional learning has not been a top priority for staff at the decile one school.

With many of her families losing their jobs, staff focussed on practical ways they could support the families.

About 97 per cent of the 180 students did not have access to devices or internet.

'For us it was about the welfare of our kids.

'Our families lost employment, and they were already struggling beforehand.'

The school re-imaged 95 laptops and dropped them to the older students.

They also provided families with three months worth of wi-fi and provided about 30 families with a few hundred dollars worth of groceries.

Milne says her children were forgotten by the Ministry of Education during this time.

Like Ōtāhuhu College, who only received half of about 120 laptops they applied for, Kia Aroha College were also let down, Milne says.

'We got not one laptop from the ministry.

Efeso Collins is the councillor for the Manukau Ward.

'Where did those laptops go? They haven’t come to us, we're feeling forgotten.

'Schools have a responsibility to understand the lived realities of our community.'

In early May, the Ministry of Education sent 12,300 laptops and Chromebooks to students, and dispatched more than 230,000 packs of printed learning materials.

Official estimates were that about 82,000 Kiwi homes did not have any access to the internet and/or fit-for-purpose education devices.

The ministry arranged for 18,000 of those households to have internet connected since lockdown began, but admitted there had been gaps in its resourcing.

In south Auckland, school staff reported seeing students outside libraries during lockdown, in an attempt to hook into the free wi-fi.

While some libraries had their wi-fi turned off manually before lockdown, most other libraries still had wi-fi access available, Auckland libraries spokesman Philip Miles said.

'However, police requested it be turned off on 26 March, to prevent people congregating outside the library.'

Auckland councillor for the Manukau Ward, Efeso Collins, said many in the community were already living in hardship and the lockdown situation had exacerbated an already pressing problem.

'I know a couple of people who have lost their jobs that operate in the airport precinct.

'Many south Aucklanders rely on the airport area for work and the toll this has had on these people is huge.

He said the inequities of the schooling system have, too, been exposed during the lockdown.

'The high numbers of students without devices or access to the internet has made it challenging for them to participate in online learning forum.

'I’m glad that most of our libraries kept their wi-fi on as both high school and tertiary students had to sit outside these facilities to complete school work and assignments.'

Community food pantries around the country have been allowed to re-open in level 2.

The Government's 2020 Budget includes a $1.6b trades and apprenticeships package.

It also announced a $900 million package to support Māori.

Helping their own

On a six-hectare kiwifruit orchard at Pukekohe, Colin Davies was heading into lockdown struggling to find workers to fill packhouse roles.

A week later, he had 100 people on a waiting list.

Among the new seasonal employees are former Air New Zealand staff, including a pilot who is now the 2IC to the shed manager.

At its peak, they had 226 people working, mostly in the packhouse, but also doing administration-type jobs and picking.

They employed about 165 packhouse workers that worked three separate shifts, he's now down to two shifts.

Davies has always been big on employing local, he said it's a struggle to train new people each year, so it's good to have employees with different skills, and different personalities.

The Ministry of Social Development has been preparing for thousands of extra benefit applications in response to an expected tidal wave of unemployment created by the Covid-19 pandemic, with leaked documents showing the number could reach 300,000.

The need for social services has also been huge with the Government putting in place local emergency management teams to help with the demand.

Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) was charged with distributing welfare packs, such as food parcels.

So far, the welfare line had taken more than 33,000 calls, with about 17,000 of those calls requesting assistance.

About 9000 of those requests were from south Auckland residents.