Minister announces further improvements to RSE
Hon Clayton Cosgrove
Minister of Immigration
30
September 2008 Media
Statement
Minister announces further improvements
to RSE
Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove says the government has decided on a number of measures to further improve the successful Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme as it enters its second year.
RSE enables employers in the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit up to 5,000 workers a year from overseas to meet labour shortages, if there are no New Zealanders available.
Mr Cosgrove said 78 percent of the 4,641 of the RSE workers who came to New Zealand this year were from Pacific Forum countries, which are prioritised under the scheme. He said overall RSE has been a great success, filling many labour market gaps caused by the country's record low unemployment.
“The uptake of RSE has exceeded expectations. It has received strong support from employers who have been able to meet labour needs in industries that have previously experienced routine shortages. For example, for the first time in many years there were no public concerns about labour shortages during the busy apple harvests in Nelson and Hawkes Bay," Mr Cosgrove said. "Likewise RSE is providing our Pacific neighbours with new opportunities and income for their people.”
Mr Cosgrove said as expected, there have been lessons learnt from the first year of RSE, and all parties have worked together at a number of forums to identify ways to improve the scheme going forward.
As a result the following changes will be
made:
• There will be improvements to pre-departure
orientation information for RSE workers so they will know
what to expect upon arrival in New Zealand.
• Enhanced
pastoral care planning. In addition to existing
requirements, employers will need plans to ensure good cross
cultural communication, and effective and fair dispute
resolution;
• RSE workers will be able to change
between RSE employers – this will give employers greater
flexibility and provide employees with more work
opportunities.
• Employers will be required on request
to fully disclose all payments received from workers –
this will assist the department when investigating any
concerns raised by workers
In addition, the Department of
Labour, which oversees the scheme, is:
• investigating
ways of ensuring that health costs are manageable for RSE
workers – currently most employers have organised health
insurance for their workers
• developing a good
practice induction guide to assist employers in the delivery
of pastoral care
• exploring ways of improving the
induction and training provided to workers, and
•
looking at the merits of establishing liaison officers to
assist with effective communication between workers and
employers and pastoral care providers.
"These are practical, commonsense steps to make RSE even better for employers and employees," Mr Cosgrove said. “Next season the majority of workers, employers and pastoral care providers will have also have had one season’s experience of RSE under their belts, so that will also help employers to meet their obligations and workers to adjust and make the most of their time here.”
Mr Cosgrove said anecdotal evidence is coming from both employers and the Pacific states of the benefits flowing through to the workers’ home countries.
One of the larger Hawkes Bay operators reports that up to 80% of workers’ net earnings have been sent home and used to construct buildings, buy village vehicles and contribute to their children’s education. In Vanuatu a number of villagers are using income derived from RSE remittances to progress a range of community projects. RSE is expected to be the country’s second largest source of foreign exchange this year after tourism.
Today's
announced changes to the RSE scheme follow a sample audit
undertaken by the Department of Labour. It found:
•
Pastoral care and work practice issues have been reasonably
well managed by the majority of employers
• Workers
averaged 17 weeks of work, with average weekly hours ranging
from 36 to 57, with an overall average of 43 hours a
week
• Workers’ average net earnings over that period
(after paying for living expenses; half their airfare, tax,
and health insurance) ranged from almost $2900 to over
$11800. The overall average was $5700.
• The minimum
requirement of 30 hours work per week on average was more
than adequately met
• The standard of accommodation
provided by employers was generally acceptable, with the
average cost being $90 per week
Mr Cosgrove said issues that have come to the Department’s attention have been quickly investigated by inspectors on the ground and employers have generally responded well to put things right when needed.
"Like any new policy, we need to allow time for RSE to bed down. There is already ample evidence that the RSE scheme is a win-win situation for employers and workers and the improvements we are making will make it even better.”
Mr Cosgrove said overall RSE has resulted in standards being lifted within the industry by reducing the use of illegal labour, which has resulted in better conditions for all employees as well as a reliable, returning workforce for employers.
Further information on the RSE Scheme is available at http://www.dol.govt.nz/initiatives/strategy/rse/index.asp
--
Background Questions and Answers
What sort of
problems have been reported to the government with
RSE?
While the RSE scheme has been very successful
overall, there have been some issues as was to be expected
in its first year of operation. The on-set of winter, for
example brought different working conditions, and both
employees and workers needed to adjust to this. Issues have
also arisen over factors such as the quality and the cost of
accommodation provided by some employers, questions over pay
rates and deductions, hours of work and productivity. The
Department of Labour (DOL) has taken a facilitative approach
and issues that have arisen have been resolved in close
co-operation with all parties. Problems can be expected to
reduce over time as employers become used to operating under
RSE and workers become more familiar with working in New
Zealand.
What decisions has the government made to
improve RSE going forward?
• There will be
improvements to pre-departure orientation information for
RSE workers so they will know what to expect upon arrival in
New Zealand. This includes developing information DVDs,
closer liaison between DOL staff and RSE co-ordinators based
in the Pacific countries, and updating the “get ready”
information pack provided to workers.
• Enhanced
pastoral care planning. In addition to existing requirements
(e.g. providing accommodation, transportation, reasonably
priced food, protective equipment etc), employers will need
plans to ensure good cross cultural communication; and
effective and fair dispute resolution;
• RSE workers
will be able to change between RSE employers – this will
give employers greater flexibility and provide employees
with more work opportunities.
• Employers will be
required on request to fully disclose all payments received
from workers – this will assist the department when
investigating any concerns raised by workers
• DOL is
investigating ways of ensuring that health costs are
manageable for RSE workers – currently most employers have
organised health insurance for their workers
• DOL is
developing a good practice induction guide to assist
employers in the delivery of pastoral care
• DOL is
exploring ways of improving the induction and training
provided to workers, and
• DOL is looking at the merits
of establishing liaison officers to assist with effective
communication between workers and employers and pastoral
care providers.
What about situations of
overcrowding?
The Department’s audit found that the
standard of accommodation provided is generally acceptable.
There was an average of 2.5 workers per room across
accommodation types with an average of 7.5 workers per room
in backpacker accommodation. There have been cases of
overcrowding, and all complaints are investigated by DOL
inspectors. Employers who do not meet the standards required
under RSE - which include making suitable accommodation
available at a reasonable cost - risk losing their RSE
status. Shared accommodation for large groups is commonplace
and in fact appears to be the preference of at least some of
the RSE workers.
Is enough being done to ensure New
Zealanders are filling these jobs?
Yes. Like all
immigration policy, the RSE scheme is designed to ensure New
Zealanders are put first, and that employers have strong
incentives to train and upskill a domestic workforce before
looking elsewhere. RSE is not a cheap alternative to
employing kiwis, as employers must pay RSE workers market
rates and half their airfare, plus meet their pastoral care
requirements. The Department works closely with Work and
Income in each horticulture/ viticulture region to ensure
that the RSE scheme gives New Zealanders the first
opportunities for employment. Permits are not given where
New Zealanders are available for work.
What are you
doing to ensure that workers who come over to New Zealand
have the work that they are contracted to do?
There
have been incidences of employers over estimating the amount
of work to be done, which is one of the reasons why a change
is being made to the scheme so that RSE workers can
temporarily move to the site of another RSE. Care will need
to be taken to ensure that workers are aware of any changes
to their working conditions that may emerge as a result of
moving between RSE employers. Employers have to pay market
rates, ensure workers are able to work an average of 30
hours a week and provide a guarantee to pay for at least 240
hours of work.
Why is RSE mainly targeted at Pacific
countries?
The scheme is geared towards Pacific
states because of New Zealand’s special relationship with
the region and commitment to its economic development and
stability. Employers can take on workers from elsewhere if
they have a pre-established relationship with a particular
country outside the Pacific.
What else is being done
to help RSE workers?
The government has already
announced work is being done to reduce the cost of
remittances so people can send more money home to their
families; and NZAID is exploring the possibility of
supporting targeted training for RSE workers, particularly
in the areas of basic literacy, numeracy and financial
literacy.
ENDS