Winepress September 2022

Caroline Vine, an RSE worker from the Solomon Islands, is in Marlborough with NZEE member Hortus

RSE Spotlight

Reputational risk to seasonal work scheme

SOPHIE PREECE

WINE MARLBOROUGH is welcoming a planned review of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, to ensure it remains fit for purpose. The scheme has evolved in the past 15 years, but there is room for improvement “and no tolerance for unethical employers who put workers’ wellbeing at risk”, say Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens and New Zealand Ethical Employers (NZEE) chief executive Tanya Pouwhare in a joint statement.

Their comments come after media last month detailed allegations by Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo that some Pacific workers suffered economic exploitation and substandard living conditions in Marlborough. The Labour Inspectorate is undertaking an investigation into a labour contrating company, which is likely to be completed by early-October.

Tanya says reports of potential breaches are concerning for workers, employers, the wine industry, “and for New Zealand inc”. It is the basic responsibility of every employer to provide a safe and healthy working environment, “and that includes respecting each individual person’s human rights”, she says. Many employers fulfil that responsibility with “purposeful intention and understanding”, Tanya adds. “Not just their legal responsibility, but the moral responsibility that leads them to provide inclusive, safe and caring environments for their people.”

NZEE was launched in June this year as a national body for employers in the primary industries, including those in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. It is based on United Nations principles for businesses to safeguard human rights, against which all members are audited, and has 95% of Marlborough viticulture labour contractors as members, but not the company being investigated.

Tanya says it is important to “call out” those not respecting people’s dignity and rights. “But we must also shine a light, just as bright, on the great employers who are getting things right, and being transparent about what they are working on to get better, because they genuinely care and know it’s the right thing to do.”

Marcus says the RSE scheme has been “absolutely vital” for Marlborough’s wine industry. Wine would not account for 20% of Marlborough’s GDP, or one in five local jobs, without the 3,000 RSE employees from nine Pacific nations supplementing the local workforce every year. It has also been valuable for the Pacific Island workers who come to Marlborough to work, and to the governments who helped design the scheme 15 years ago, he says.

“A full review of the scheme was planned before Covid, and it’s important that government continues to push ahead with it now. The review will provide opportunity to protect those outcomes, and the people who work in our vineyards.” Marcus notes that the scheme is complex, and requires “seamless alignment” between policy, regulations, and implementation, to ensure the best outcome for RSE employees, industry and the Pacific nations involved.

A spokesperson for Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood says when done right, the RSE scheme provides benefits to Pacific Island workers in employment opportunity and money sent back to their families. “It provides benefits to the participating Pacific nations, in the skills, experience and remittances brought back home through the cyclical scheme,” they say. “And it provides benefits to employers in the horticulture and viticulture industry, directly addressing labour supply changes in this important sector for New Zealand economy.”

However, it is clear that this experience is not being shared by all, they say. The government has commenced a review of the wider system, which is expected to report back in the first half of 2023. “Minister Wood has also directed officials to investigate whether we need to amend our current instructions and guidance on employment, accommodation and pastoral care standards to bring practice in line with the expected recommendations.”

Indevin Group has asked all its growers to provide details of their current or intended vineyard contractors, and may make accreditation, such as NZEE membership, mandatory in the future. “Clearly, we need to develop ways to verify that all suppliers of labour to our businesses are complying with the law and with our expectations,” said group chief executive Duncan McFarlane in a letter to growers last month. “We will be working with our stakeholder partners over the next few months to determine how best to do this.”

Indevin, which includes Villa Maria, relies on more than 700 RSE workers over the pruning season, including on company and grower blocks. “I really don’t know how we would be able to prune our vineyards without RSE workers,” says Duncan. “The viability of our industry would come into question, so we need to work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen.”

The letter says reports of exploitation were disappointing and frustrating. “I wanted to share with you our commitment and expectations to ensure that no workers are exploited in our supply chain, and the support we need from you.” As well as reiterating expectations that labour suppliers meet legal and ethical standards regarding worker accommodation, workplace health and safety, and fair pay and conditions, he says Indevin will work with Thornhill Horticultural Contracting, of which it has a 75% stake, to develop best practices for the industry. “By focusing on this issue and setting the standard, we believe we can lift the bar for the industry.”

The swift action from an organisation “leading the way in the space of social compliance”, was applauded by Tanya. “They are being transparent and owning their role in protecting people’s human rights.” And growers were “overwhelmingly positive” in their response, says Duncan. “A number of growers have gone out of their way to let me know that they really appreciate and support our stance on this issue.”

He welcomes the RSE review, and hopes it will result in more rigour around the approval of RSE licences and accommodation standards “and pastoral care to ensure the right standards are in place at all times”. That could be in conjunction with existing licence holders who have a proven track record of looking after their workers and possibly via an independent audit standard, he says.

Marlborough Winegrowers board member and Waihopai Valley grape grower Anna Laugesen says it was “heart breaking” to hear that some RSE workers have not had a positive experience in the province. “The people we see on the ground seem to enjoy working here, and we want them to be happy living and working in Marlborough. We’ve only had a positive experience with the scheme.” She only uses contractors with a good reputation who are members of NZEE, and is wary of a cheap deal. “If someone is coming to your gate offering you good rates, it is probably too good to be true.” Building a long-term relationship with your labour contractor allows a “degree of trust” in the relationship between contractor and grower, and she has confidence in the many checks and balances of the RSE scheme and NZEE, along with the involvement of the labour inspectorate.

But they also spend time in the vineyard, determined that RSE workers will not be a number in the rows. “We enjoy hearing from the RSE workers about what their lives are like back home. How their families are,” Anna says. “And yes, they miss their families, but feel they are here to better their lives back home.”

The RSE scheme is “vitally important” for the province, “and without it we wouldn’t be where we are today”, she adds. “We are incredibly grateful to the people who come to New Zealand on the scheme to work in our vineyards, and we love that it has a positive influence on the lives of those Pacific communities involved.” Recent media coverage should be used by growers and wine companies as impetus to gain more understanding of the scheme and any changes that are necessary to protect it and the people behind it, she adds. The scheme has evolved over time, and will continue to evolve, “and if there are any issues they have to be resolved”.

Ethical Voice

Marlborough vineyard contractors are using a new online platform to get feedback from employees, including seasonal workers. ”We need to develop a due diligence system where every worker has a voice,” says Chris O’Reilly, chief executive and co-founder of AskYourTeam.

New Zealand Ethical Employers (NZEE) has introduced members to AskYourTeam’s Ethical Voice platform, which offers insights into employee experience via an anonymous survey. NZEE chief executive Tanya Pouwhare says she jumped in as soon as the resource was launched and had more than 10 Marlborough NZEE vineyard contractors involved in a recent survey of 1404 workers from 12 different countries.

There were 21 businesses in the RSE scheme in the survey, and most of the respondents were “very happy”, says Chris. “But there were things raised, and now that these employers know what the issues are, they can make the changes they need to continually improve.”

By listening to the feedback and acting on it, responsible employers can reap the benefits, he says. “With an approach like this, everyone wins. We give people the respect that they deserve, strengthen the reputation of New Zealand and its produce, and prove to the world and our Pacific partners – where the majority of our RSE workers come from – that we take worker wellbeing seriously.”

Tanya says policies and regulations are essential, “but if you don’t check in with the people, it’s pointless”. The survey has been translated into most of the languages of nationalities involved in the RSE scheme, and include questions such as ‘do you feel safe in your accommodation?’ and ‘do you have a copy of your contract’? as well as checking in on whether the job people are doing is what they signed up for. Tanya says the New Zealand platform is “world leading”, using anonymous disclosures to empower RSE workers and grow ethical practices, and going forward all members of NZEE will have to put Ethical Voice through their workforce.

Recognising the merit of RSE

SOPHIE PREECE

The Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme has been “remarkably successful” in adjusting to challenges over the past 15 years, including those posed by Covid-19, says Professor Richard Bedford. “Let’s be careful that we don’t forget the really good thinking that underpinned the RSE, that still drives the behaviours of most people in it,” says the migration expert who, with Charlotte Bedford and Heather Nunns, conducted Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme Impact Studies from March 2018 to May 2020, across five of the nine Pacific Island countries involved in the scheme, and six New Zealand host communities.

He was disappointed by recent media coverage of the scheme, and in particular a lack of attention on the impacts of Covid-19, which have seen some RSE workers stranded in New Zealand for nearly three years. “It’s been a huge challenge for some growers and their pastoral care group,” says Richard. That includes finding year-round work for the long-stay employees, and securing their wellbeing. Covid border closures also exacerbated the issue of accommodation, says Richard. “It’s one thing to come and spend three or four months in fairly confined accommodation. It’s a completely different story to spend three years in such accommodation.”

Covid created massive challenges for employers, workers and their families back in the islands. “But the RSE system is always facing competing pressures and challenges and it has been remarkably successful as a system in adjusting to those challenges”, says Richard. He was also disappointed that the coverage did not make any reference to positive initiatives, like establishing Ethical Employers New Zealand (see page 10) “which is a major step forward”.

The expert knows more than many about some of the scheme’s shortfalls, including downstream impacts. At a Talanoa Fa’apasifika in Blenheim in June 2021, Richard told attendees there had been some unintended consequences of the programme, such as the loss of productivity in workers’ home villages, and uneven RSE work opportunities across the islands, meaning “a rebalancing of benefits is required.” The RSE scheme’s focus had been on meeting the demands and expectations of employers, with less attention to workers’ experiences and viewpoints, which poses a risk, “given the scrutiny of international customers on socially sustainable employment practices throughout their supply chains”, said their report on RSE scheme impacts. It recommended a “recalibration of worker conditions”, including that earnings keep pace with increasing living costs and other participation costs. The report noted that while the RSE scheme has operated in a relatively stable policy environment since it was formed, it is important to ensure it “does not simply remain fit for purpose, but enhances its reputation as a best practice seasonal labour mobility scheme”.

Richard is confident the RSE scheme review currently underway will address the concerns they raised in their report, without losing the strong platform created 15 years ago. “We have to ensure that coming out of Covid we have a really good adjustment as a result of the review… not a complete reinvention.”