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Labour outlook ‘promising’ for coming harvest
The apple orchards of Riwaka viewed from the Takaka Hill road
For the first time since 2020, many backpackers are likely to be picking and packing fruit alongside Kiwis and Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme workers this coming season, thanks to changes in Covid-19 restrictions.
Elaine Fisher
Borders opening and an end to the traffic light Covid conditions have given Nelson orchardists confidence they will have enough staff to harvest all their fruit, easing what has been a major headache for them during the past two years.
“The outlook is promising with the borders opening and the recent announcement getting rid of the traffic light system. So long as there is no outbreak of a new variant and people in the (Pacific) Islands stay Covid-free there should be no issues and we will have a normal year for labour supply,” Evan Heywood of Heywood Orchards Riwaka says. “By all accounts the backpackers are starting to come back and the RSE programme is looking solid.” Julian Raine, director of Wai-West Horticulture Ltd and former president of Horticulture New Zealand agrees finding workers this season should be easier. “However, horticulture competes with hospitality and tourism for labour coming through the border. Making coffee or beds and cleaning are skills required seven days a week, 12 months of the year, while the apple picking window is 10 to 11 weeks and for kiwifruit it’s a shorter timeframe.
“Orchard work is also restricted to specific regions – Central Otago, Nelson, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland – while tourism and hospitality is spread from one end of the country to the other.” The Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed to manage it demonstrated clearly that New Zealand does not have enough people for all the jobs which need doing.
“When the borders closed tens of thousands of people here on working visas left New Zealand, including professionals like doctors and nurses through to labourers and horticultural workers. We lost the lot, which is why we are now so desperately short of people across so many fields of employment.” Richard Clarkson of Birdhurst Orchards, Motueka is also optimistic the company will have the staff it needs for this season’s harvest.
“We harvested all our fruit last season. We were lucky to bring staff in when we wanted them to get the fruit off trees and kiwifruit vines on time.”
Like many in the horticultural industry, Birdhurst Orchards has Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) and Agreement to Recruit (ATR) status. ATR allows RSE registered companies to hire overseas workers for a single seasonal period. “We had our ATR workers flown in based on the pattern of our work programme and asked staff to come here early. They all came on charter flights. Moving forward we should see a return to some normality with commercial flights resuming. Assuming nothing changes and no other pandemic arises, it should be easier to get staff when we need to and get them home again.” Richard says while the preference is to employ Kiwis, there are not enough New Zealanders willing or able to do the seasonal work.
“Kiwi workers are hard to find because of the current low unemployment rate, people not being ready to be employed and lack of accommodation. It’s an issue getting people to our region because renting is expensive and there is a shortage of houses.” Birdhurst has accommodation for staff but that is taken up by RSE and ATR workers. “We are able to provide some accommodation in the shoulders of the season, but in the busy peak time all beds are taken.” While Richard believes Birdhurst will have enough staff for the harvest, there is still a question around whether or not there will be an increase in the number of RSE workers allowed into the country. “All growers would like more RSE staff to help with the growth in the industry from new plantings. We are happy with the numbers we have now but need more for future growth.”
