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Labour, labour, labour – preparing for 2022 New Zealand's horticultural sector survived last year's Covid-19 lockdowns, but this season has added stress through labour shortages, changing consumer habits and the costs of exporting. By Geoff Lewis The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme enables the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from the Pacific Islands for seasonal work, when there are not enough New Zealand workers. However, the government retained the 14,400-worker cap for 2020–21, due to the impact of Covid-19 on employment, economic conditions and international travel. This has been compounded by a gradual loss of foreign backpackers on working holidays. Waikato-based Strawberry Fields owner, Darien McFadden, says labour was a big issue in early November and he is still a long way from full production and already short-staffed.
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The ORCHARDIST : DECEMBER 2021
“A lot of growers are going to walk away from blocks,” says Darien. “I usually have 30 to 40 staff but this year I’ve got five with another 13 or so regulars coming back. The big loss is 20 to 30 people on working holiday visas who usually just rock up. We have record low unemployment. WINZ (Work and Income New Zealand) refers people, but we're lucky to get any that turn-up.” PickMee Fresh director, John Altham, says the labour market is tight, the biggest shortage being in foreign holiday visa workers. The leading apple and stonefruit producer is hoping to get the same number of RSE workers they had in 2019 – as promised by the government.
