RSE workers

The cyclones caused extensive damage and plunged parts of Vanuatu into a state of emergency.

RNZ Pacific reports Emanuel Roslyn flew into Auckland with around 60 other workers on the first flight out of the country on Wednesday afternoon.

His father's home was flattened, leaving him sheltering in Port Vila.

The stark findings are the result of an extensive survey by Australia's Anti-Slavery Taskforce.

The Taskforce's Executive Officer, Alison Rahill, said the Australian government needs greater scrutiny of the Pacific Labour Mobility scheme and that better support is needed for its seasonal workers.

The Taskforce is a social agency established by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, providing support for potential victims of slavery-like practices.

Ms Rahill said isolation and other factors increases the risk of abuse.

They say more could and should have been done to avoid the crisis facing the 2021-2022 harvest season.

From 28 February, New Zealanders will be able to arrive back from Australia and expatriates from the rest of the world can return from 14 March.

Aotearoa was expected to open to foreigners from visa-waiver countries such as the United States no later than July.

For those who benefit from New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) Scheme, the move had come "too little too late".

“We’re pleased to announce that RSE workers from Vanuatu can begin arriving into New Zealand from 4 October, with Samoan and Tongan workers arriving from 12 October,” Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor said.

“This will provide much needed certainty for our growers as they gear up for summer and autumn harvesting.”

The change was announced by, New Zealand's COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today.

“We want to provide certainty to the horticulture industry that we are moving forward with safe quarantine-free travel for RSE workers in time for the upcoming picking season,” Damien O’Connor said.

The group of workers marks the resumption of the RSE scheme since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of the international border in March 2020.

The seasonal workers travelled to New Zealand on chartered flights operated by Air Vanuatu at the expense of RSE employers.

Vanuatu has been the largest sending country of workers to NZ since the establishment of the scheme.

Last November, the New Zealand government granted a border exception for up to 2,000 experienced Pacific Island RSE workers to address labour shortages.

Local media in Vanuatu reported that of the 2,000 quota for the Pacific, ni-Vanuatu make up 45 per cent of the RSE labour for the February to March intake.

The workers will be travelling to New Zealand on eight chartered flights operated by Air Vanuatu at the expense of their RSE employers.

The workers will travel to New Zealand on Tuesday (2 February), marking the formal resumption of the RSE programme for 2021.

According to the New Zealand High Commission, this season RSE will be open to 2000 experienced workers from across the Pacific and close to 900 will come from Vanuatu.

NZ High Commission First Secretary, Adham Crichton spoke to the workers and told them that their health and safety was the number one priority and thanked them for contribution they make to the New Zealand horticulture industry.

The body's chief executive, Nikki Johnson, said this reflected the current labour shortage facing the industry in the Bay of Plenty region.

The cap was increased from 10,500 to 11,100 for this year's season and around 2000 RSE workers would operate in the Bay of Plenty at some point, Ms Johnson said.

An extra 1200 workers were needed over the next month, however, to pick and pack the kiwifruit crop, she said.

The temporary migrant labour scheme celebrated its tenth anniversary in Blenheim in July 2017 after initially being introduced in 2007 to assist the New Zealand horticultural industry find a stable workforce whilst improving the economies of the Pacific Islands.

However, RSE Liaison Officer for the Tongan Government Sefita Hao’uli believes the time has come to train workers to transition back to living permanently at home after finishing their time on the scheme.