Picked up to pluck ripe strawberries

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Taase Aloniu had his first job yesterday.

The 21-year-old was part of a busload of strawberry pickers brought in by a West Auckland grower to counter a shortage of labour.

Farmer John Garelja said he was paying $400 a day to charter a bus to bring workers the 35km from Manukau, because West Auckland residents were not interested.

Mr Garelja said that even an approach through Work and Income NZ to a seminar of 60 beneficiaries brought only one worker, a woman, to the garden.

He had a regular team of about 40 to 50 pickers, but needed up to 120 with the flush of the strawberry season only three weeks away.

Facing the risk of missed export orders and leaving some gardens unpicked, Mr Garelja said he was prepared to take the expensive measure which, he hoped, would be temporary.

The idea arose when a Winz officer in Manukau City saw Mr Garelja's advertisements for pickers. He said he could supply workers but they needed transport.

Monday was the first day the bus ran from pickup centres at Clendon, Manukau City Centre, Otara, Papatoetoe and Otahuhu. It brought only 18 people but now brings 45 people.

Mr Garelja said these workers could earn $300 after tax for a six-day week.

The unemployment benefit for a single person aged 20 to 24 years is $128 a week after tax and for 25 years and over, $154.

Work started about 6 am and stopped when the afternoon became too hot for picking the fruit.

Mr Aloniu said he hoped to make more money than he could on a benefit and to get a work reference from Mr Garelja that would help him find a factory job.

"This job is fine. It's good for me and better than staying home on a benefit," he said.

West Auckland and Coatesville have about half of the 18 million plants in the country's commercial strawberry gardens and Mr Garelja said he believed other growers were struggling to find staff.

The Winz western Auckland office has 3852 active jobseekers on its book.

Spokeswoman Sally Ewer said clients receiving a work-tested benefit who turned down any offer of work would be asked to give a good reason for their refusal.

Work-test procedures could be instigated for those who refused to accept suitable offers of employment or training.

These included sanctions on benefits, and eventual suspension of benefits in the event of non-compliance.

The Winz commissioner for South Auckland, Denise Fink, said that because of the seasonal nature of crop picking and its flexible hours, Winz ensured that its clients were not financially disadvantaged if there were days when there was no work.

The office had placed 75 clients with a grower who needed people to pick berries, pack fruit for export and replant for the next season.

Perry's Berrys, which has a garden near Auckland International Airport, continually advertises for replacements to keep its picking staff, at present about 200, up to strength.

The company's office manager, Lynne Hanson, said that this season it was particularly hard to find enough pickers.

Winz says the Mangere area has 4000 job seekers, Otara 1700 and Otahuhu 1500.

Growers suggested the shortage of pickers had coincided with tighter checking procedures by Winz and Inland Revenue in an attempt to stop people receiving their full unemployment benefit while working.