The Employers and Manufacturers Association says as well as letting more recognised seasonal workers into the country the government should allow people with expired visas to work legally in New Zealand.
The government has this week announced one way quarantine free travel into New Zealand for workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The EMA says there needs to be a clear pathway to residency for people from the Pacific Islands and those who are already here illegally should be allowed to work.
EMA chief executive Brett O'Riley said he has been talking to the organisation's members about potential solutions for solving New Zealand's skills and labour shortage.
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There are 14,000 overstayers currently in New Zealand, he said.
"That's 14,000 people that have homes that could be working and we'd like to see as many of those people in the workforce as possible."
He said a third of the overstayers are from Samoa and Tonga, which is particularly relevant given the Dawn Raids apology made by the government over the weekend.
"We've said to the government, to ministers and to officials that we thought that it was completely appropriate that the Dawn Raid apology was accompanied by an amnesty and a pathway to residency for those workers."
O'Riley said that would benefit the New Zealand economy but also their home countries.
"We know that many of those people are sending remittances home to Samoa, Tonga and to other islands and that benefits those economies who have been really badly hit by Covid so it's a win-win for everybody and frankly a no-brainer."
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O'Riley said there is a growing awareness of the issues around overstayers.
"It doesn't just impact work, it impacts education, it impacts people not participating in the formal economy."
He said Covid-19 has made such a solution more compelling, but it is important to address the pay gap between Pacific Islanders and other New Zealanders.
O'Riley said a conundrum for policy makers is that they feel that if they allow Pacific Islanders on expired visas to work legally then they must do that for other migrant groups.
"But we have demonstrated through Covid-19 that we were willing to make exceptions, that we were willing to get out there and be bold in response to it - so that's what we're calling for here."
O'Riley said he does not see any reason why the government cannot signal that it will allow the 14,000 overstayers in New Zealand to participate in the economy like everyone else.