Dozens of RSE workers were caught up in the mass flooding in Hawke's Bay after Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the region earlier this week. Image / Facebook
Dozens of RSE workers were caught up in the mass flooding in Hawke's Bay after Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the region earlier this week. Image / Facebook
A group of 12 seasonal workers reported to be unaccounted for have now been found safe and well.
An Immigration New Zealand spokeswoman confirmed to the Herald about 12.30pm that the workers had been located and were being looked after.
No other information was shared - including which Pacific countries the employees are from or why they were reported to be unaccounted for.
It is understood the workers had been in Gisborne, where communication services were cut after severe weather tore through the region on Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The good news comes after Immigration Minister Michael announced that a group of workers here under the Recognised Seaonal Employment scheme had not been located in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Speaking to TVNZ’s Breakfast show this morning, Wood said there were 5000 RSE workers in the broader area of Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
The majority of workers had been accounted for and were being looked after by either their employers or at various evacuation sites, including at churches, church halls, marae and community facilities, set up over the past few days.
Wood said authorities believed the missing 12 may have made their own way to different evacuation sites around those areas and that a big priority today would be to find them.
He did not know which countries the workers are from in the Pacific, but said that their respective governments had been told about the situation.
There are nine Pacific Island nations signed up to the RSE scheme, which has been going for almost 16 years now and allows workers to travel to New Zealand to work at orchards and vineyards around the country - including in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and the Bay of Plenty.
Those countries are: Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru and the Solomon Islands.
500 RSE workers displaced after cyclone
Immigration NZ refugee and migrant services general manager Fiona Whiteridge said in a statement yesterday that there had been no reports of injuries to any RSE workers around the country.
However, about 500 people under the scheme had been displaced from their worker accommodation and were receiving support from the National Emergency Management Agency. They were all based in Hawke’s Bay.
RSE workers at the EFKS Hastings church hall. Photo / Rev Sunita Nua
As of yesterday, there were a total of 8226 RSE workers in New Zealand. They are made up of 3352 workers in the Hawke’s Bay, 161 in Gisborne and 660 in the Bay of Plenty.
INZ also said that two of the bigger RSE nations had Pacific liaison officers on the ground in Hawke’s Bay and that INZ officials were in regular contact with them, as well as the relevant Pacific countries whose citizens had been impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Whiteridge said they were concerned about the welfare of the workers and working closely with employers, industry, and other agencies to ensure support was provided.
RSE employers to continue to pay staff
Employers are responsible for their welfare and pastoral care and are required to continue to pay them a minimum of 30 hours per week at $22.10 per hour.
“We are working with Industry and employers to assess the impact on the Horticulture and viticulture sector,” Whiteridge said.
“We are working with them to assess options to ensure RSE workers continue to have the opportunity to work in New Zealand if they wish to.”
RSE liaison for Samoa, Niuafolau Helen Uiese earlier told the Herald that all workers from Samoa had been accounted for, so far.
Many of the employees are based in Hawke’s Bay and although were affected by the weather event and flooding, had not reported any injuries or casualties.
“We thank God everyone is okay and being cared for at evacuation sites. We’re just grateful to the Pacific community, local Samoan church communities, the Police, the army, Civil Defence and local authorities who have helped us.”
Niuafolau said they were yet to make contact with workers in the Gisborne area, however, due to loss of communication links due to the cyclone.
In the past few days, since the weather bomb hit, she said she had been fielding many calls and messages from family members outside of the area and particularly in Samoa wondering how their loved ones are and whether they are alive.
“When they don’t hear from them, they think the worst. They think they’re dead,” she said.
She and others linked to the RSE workers at evacuation sites were now posting regular updates - including photos and video footage - on Facebook in a bid to keep families overseas updated on the situation on the ground.
The country liaison for Vanuatu RSE workers has reported that all Ni-Vanuatu workers are accounted for.
Olivia Fleur Johnson confirmed to the Herald that none of their workers were missing and that they had escaped with no loss to personal property.
“Happy and relieved to report all our citizens are safe and well,” she said.
“Some were moved to evacuation centres as precaution and one group [moved] as their accommodation was flooded.
“Some were still without electricity yesterday and their employers have dropped off supplies and generators.”
Johnson said some workers were able to return to their jobs today. However, much of the work was limited to cleaning up the damage left behind by Cyclone Gabrielle.
They are also waiting to get some advice from MBIE on what the next move may be, given some farms have been completely wiped out - so no working season left.
“These are questions and answers now starting to crop up.”
