Vanuatu seasonal workers urged to join union

The call by the Vanuatu Workers Union comes as it was announced that 800 seasonal workers will head to Australia in coming weeks.

Discussions were also ongoing over the possibility of more ni-Vanuatu returning to New Zealand for seasonal employment in the new year.

The Union's Secretary-General, Rocky Bule, said around two-thousand seasonal workers were members. However there are several thousand more who aren't.

According to Bule, local agents in Vanuatu tend to discourage the workers from joining unions.

But he said in the pandemic era, their union could help protect workers' rights and their safety.

"All the workers must join union for a better condition of work. And we don't want that all the workers that go to Australia and New Zealand, when they come back to Vanuatu we don't want that they test positive (for Covid-19)."

Vanuatu's government provided isolation facilities for all people returning to the country, with a mandatory two-week stint before people could enter the community.

However the union said it could help ensure workers were fully aware of the correct safety procedures from the outset, covering their time abroad to their return home.

Of Pacific Island countries, Vanuatu was the first to take up opportunities to participate in New Zealand's Recognised Employer Scheme, over a decade ago.

Ni-Vanuatu have also embraced various seasonal work programmes in Australia.

However in both countries ni-Vanuatu had encountered problems with working and living conditions, as well as heavy deductions from their pay for so-called "costs".

Bule said it was important that the 800 ni-Vanuatu about to head to Australia were also protected by the union in Australia.

"Because a couple of years we had many complaints from the workers," he explained.

"They say when they go to seasonal work they have (been) threatened by the farmers, they say the condition of living and the condition of their housing is not (good) enough for their health, too small."