Venkat Raman
Auckland, October 4, 2023
A leading job placement, logistics and warehousing company has come to the rescue of migrant workers who were recently left high and dry in a Papakura home in South Auckland.
Link2 Services of the Link2 Group has been interviewing the victims of an immigration scam and has already placed a few of them at the sites of its clients.
Group Executive Chairman Indra Sigiri that he and his wife and Director Manasa Sirigiri understand the plight and agony of such people and deem it their duty to support them.
They said that the Link2 Group is ready for all others in a similar situation, provided they were legally permitted to work in New Zealand or at least have a valid Job Search Visa.
“While about 30 migrants were reported to be the victims of the recent immigration scam, we understand that there are many more – at least 180 people – from South Asian countries, Indonesia and other countries. Manasa has been speaking to many of them, saying that those suitable for placement at the sites of our clients will get jobs. We will be happy to consider the applications of other victims, based on the available vacancies,” he said.
Mr Sirigiri said that victims of employment fraud and migrant exploitation are unaware of realities when they board flights in their countries of origin.
“While the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme and the improved immigration process have eased the worker and skill shortage issues, there are still many unresolved issues. We had given many suggestions to Michael Wood when he was Immigration Minister. The wage structure should be in accordance with the educational qualifications and experience,” he said.
The Sirigiri couple understands the anxiety of new migrants, especially if their jobs are not assured.
Like many migrants, they too had a tough beginning as they arrived in New Zealand from their native Hyderabad with two children (son Rahul and daughter Sowmya) in the Autumn of 1997.
Mr Sirigiri is a Civil Engineer by qualification and his profession was ‘over-qualified’ while Ms Sirigiri had no work experience. But they had hope, confidence and the ability to do hard work, along with a saving of $2200, with which he purchased a used vehicle.
Modest beginnings
“Manasa was the first to get a job in a production house, and I also managed to secure employment in the printing industry. Pleased with her efficiency and sincerity, Manasa’s employers encouraged her to start her own business in May 1998. I started helping her in the evenings and on weekends. Those were the beginnings of our own enterprise and Link2 Services Limited was officially launched in December 2000,” Mr Sirigiri said.
He said that Mrs Sirigiri was known for teamwork, understanding and compassion.
“These qualities made her a good employer and Link2 Services began to grow. The family business expanded with the acquisition of ‘Apparel Solutions,’ in 2013 (rebranded as ‘Link2 Solutions in 2017) and ‘Stirling Recruitment a few years ago (rebranded as Link2 Recruitment),” he said.
Mr Sirigiri used his experience in business both as an employer and employee to determine the sort of company that he wanted Link2 Services to be – one that worked hard for the customers and treated the employees with respect. Today, he is the Chairman and Managing Director of multimillion-dollar Link 2 Services, Link2 Solutions and Link2 Recruitment with a staff of over 400.
He directs the Mission of the companies to be the link between customer demand and personnel, providing manpower when and where needed.
Shared responsibilities
Link2 Services has a flat management structure intended to maintain flexibility in meeting clients’ requests and allowing swift communication within the business.
Link 2 Group provides resources to logistics companies and large retailers. The business model is to contract casual and temporary staff to businesses at the right time, at competitive prices and to complete jobs with high levels of accuracy. Trained teams are led by customer-specific team leaders and weekly customer feedback is acted on immediately.
Link2 Group has more than 400 staff with 60% Indian ethnicity working with 35-40 different customers across Auckland and operating from their Penrose Offices. New employees undergo an induction programme with a significant focus on health and safety systems as well as the required skills for customer deployment. Staff with leadership abilities are identified by Site Supervisors and Customer Service Managers from performance reviews and client feedback.
The Company has set performance standards at corporate, team and personal levels; and monitors the progress of each of these on a monthly basis. All personnel work to achieve higher levels of productivity and profitability and then set higher targets. These factors promote high levels of financial performance of the companies in the Link2 Group, which in turn reflect staff placement, customer satisfaction and other measurable factors.
Indra and Manasa Sirigiri are committed to constructing a Temple for Lord Venkateshwara (Lord Balaji) in Auckland and are in the process of complying with the local government regulations. A Special Pooja in commemoration of Purattasi Saturday was held at the proposed site of the Temple in Ramarama in South Auckland on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
Indian Newslink will publish further information from time to time.
