HORTNEWS SEPTEMBER 2022, ISSUE 25
T&G Global reports solid progress – Page 7
ISSN 2624-3490 (print) ISSN 2624-3504 (online)
WWW.HORTNEWS.CO.NZ
Bad bosses besmirch all
Peter Burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
THE ORGANISATION which represents kiwifruit growers says it has zero tolerance for anyone who treats RSE workers badly. Colin Bond, who heads up NZ Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated, says the industry is privileged to have RSE workers from the Pacific and they are critically important to the sector. He says any negative publicity around the bad treatment of workers is not only bad for the individuals, but also dam-
ages the much respected brand of the NZ kiwifruit industry. Bond told Hort News the recent publicity about issues relating to RSE workers is disappointing because the behaviour of a few poorly performing individuals reflects on the vast majority of employers in the industry who do the right thing by their workers. He explains that the employment of RSE workers is strictly controlled by department of labour inspectors. “Contracts have to be signed off – along with accommodation and deductions. In terms of poor accommo-
dation, the answer is that there should be very little of that,” he adds. “But it’s not only the original accommodation, it’s also repairs and maintenance and keeping the places at a high standard.” Bond says many growers are now having to be landlords, although there are some third parties involved in providing accommodation for workers. He adds that, to the best of his knowledge, employers have a very good working relationship with the labour inspectorate and consequently there should be few problems. But Bond concedes – given the
recent media coverage of the poor treatment of some RSE workers – the industry, as a whole, needs to learn from this and make sure it looks after these valuable workers. He says having sufficient people to work in the kiwifruit industry is critical. Bond believes last season’s problems around fruit quality is, in part, due to the number of people being available and having the skills to handle the fruit properly. “In this industry with the brand being paramount we can’t afford to compromise quality. What we need
is 24,000 people who are committed to doing a quality job,” he told Hort News. “It wouldn’t have mattered if we had 26,000 people available – quality comes first.” Bond says the lack of staff is a global phenomenon and says he hopes that there will be more people available to work in the sector in 2022/23. “We are really hopeful that 2022 was the toughest harvest from a labour perspective. We are expecting an increased crop next year but with the borders open and backpackers coming in we hope we can get more RSEs in as well.”
A BLOOMING SUCCESS! Courtney Chamberlain is a finalist in this year’s national Young Horticulturist of the Year competition, which will be decided in November. The 28-year-old works as the assistant manager on the six-generation Chamberlain family flower farm, Hadstock, near Christchurch – one of the country’s biggest flower growers. Chamberlain has completed law and commerce degrees at Canterbury University, but says flowers are her passion and that is why she has chosen to stay and work on the family farm. The Young Horticulturist of the Year competition pits the contenders against each other across a range of modules – including practical, leadership, speechcraft, business acumen and industry knowledge. – See full story page 6
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