Modern slavery claims disputed by RSE employers

Elaine Fisher

Claims the Pacific Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme is an example of modern slavery and the Government must hold an enquiry are disputed by Tauranga Orchardist, Graham Dyer.

Graham has 40 years’ experience of Vanuatu and more than a decade of experience working with the RSE scheme. He says he and other RSE scheme employers are not afraid of an enquiry but believes there is no need for one.

“Both the New Zealand and Vanuatu governments have very strict codes of compliance for employers involved in the RSE scheme.”

The RSE workers he and his wife, Mavis, employed during last year’s kiwifruit pruning earned an average of $1011.00 a week, net over three months. “That was after tax, an accommodation charge of $100 a week and $50 a week for food,” Graham says. “The choice of food was theirs alone. We didn’t dictate what they ate. Our staff were taken to town [Tauranga] at least twice a week, sometimes three times. This included remittance trips to Western Union to send money home, shopping trips and trips to buy food. “Now and again, there would be social trips to visit other Ni-Vans, working for post-harvest companies in the area.” Workers staying on the Dyer orchard are welcome to have visitors, including other Ni-Vans. “We have string band instruments set up here, which are part of the Ni-Van culture and those who can play are welcome to use them.”

Graham says people wanting to understand the NiVanuatu culture should read ‘Road no Good’ by Bridget Isichei, who is a Tauranga-based pre-school education expert who spent time in Vanuatu, attempting to set up a pre-school system run by local women. Graham says the book is an eye-opener into life on the islands. It’s also a life Graham and Mavis understand.

Graham and Mavis Dyer (far right) with a granddaughter and group of Ni-Vanuatu RSE workers outside the Dyer family home near Tauranga

“Mavis and I began our relationship with Vanuatu in 1980 by visiting the village of Casevaia in South Santo and later, employing workers,” Graham says. “We got to know a particular family well. After we returned to New Zealand, a boy from the village came to live with us for three years while he studied. He is one of the RSE workers who returns to us each season.”

Graham’s contribution to Casevaia has been recognised by the villagers who have made him an honorary chief and gifted him a small piece of Custom Land near the beach, where they built a small house for the Dyer family. “Aside from the money Ni-Vans earn working on the Dyer orchard, we opened an account at a local hardware store near the village in Vanuatu, to help with repairs when the village was demolished by the recent cyclone to hit the island. “These actions are not about patronisation but about respecting each other as people and helping where we can.” The RSE scheme was launched in 2007, when the cap for bringing workers in was set at 5000 places. Recently, the Government increased the cap to 16,000 for 2021/2022. The 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. It also contributes to New Zealand’s objectives for the Pacific, by encouraging economic development, regional integration and stability. In 2018, the RSE scheme saw the Pacific Islands benefit by more than $40 million. The RSE scheme has been recognised by the World Bank as being one of the best migrant labour schemes in the world.