We have got nothing to hide - Orchard boss

BY ANNA PEARSON

The Labour Department is investigating allegations circulating on the internet about the treatment of Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme workers at Birdhurst orchard in Motueka.

However, the company said it had nothing to hide.

At Birdhurst, Golden Bay Fruits employs more than 100 RSE workers, mostly from Vanuatu.

Golden Bay Fruits managing director Heath Wilkins said: "People can make allegations or complaints as they see fit, but there needs to be stuff to back it up. We have got nothing to hide."

Immigration New Zealand immigration policy acting group manager Stephen Dunstan said the department was investigating the allegations, but was not in a position to comment further.

Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman went to two other Tasman orchards on Thursday and yesterday in a scheduled visit that was unrelated to the investigation and followed the release of a report last week on the RSE scheme.

The scheme allows New Zealand employers to bring in workers from the Pacific Islands to "top up" their domestic horticulture and viticulture workforce.

The report said while the scheme was a "win, win, win" arrangement for the horticulture and viticulture industries, Pacific workers and Pacific states, the industry "win" had dominated. Issues that still needed to be worked through included accommodation quality, cost, overcrowding and dispute resolution.

The report said larger employers, with 338 to 678 RSE employees, described their pastoral care responsibilities under the scheme, such as finding suitable accommodation for workers to live in for up to nine months, as "onerous".

MOUTERE-BASED AB Wood Holdings co-owner Anna Wood said although the initial setup under the scheme was a hassle, it got easier.

Mrs Wood and her husband, Ashton, have employed eight Tongan workers to help with the apple harvest this season.

The workers live in a house on their property, pay $80 a week and get a van to share.

Tongan worker Vise Sio is in his second season at AB Wood Holdings.

He first came because he could not find any work after a supermarket where he worked at in Tonga went bankrupt.

He said his experience in New Zealand had been positive, and he wanted to come back next year.

Department of Labour RSE establishment director John Roseveare said providing adequate care for workers was a "non-negotiable" part of the scheme.

There were examples around the country where employers were investing substantial amounts of money into accommodation, he said, including Hope's Vailima orchard, which Mr Coleman visited yesterday.

Vailima is one of the larger employers of RSE workers in the Nelson region, with 129 Tongan and Samoan RSE workers, and has invested in a purpose-built accommodation block.

Vailima orchard co-owner Richard Hoddy would not say how much it had spent, but said the new block had six bedrooms, three toilets and two showers.

Mr Coleman said the RSE evaluation report showed the scheme had resulted in productivity gains in the horticulture and viticulture industries, improvements in harvest quality, greater access for employers to a reliable, stable, seasonal workforce and economic benefits for Pacific workers and their states.

The Nelson region now had 480 RSE workers.

- © Fairfax NZ News