Cyclone Gabrielle: Pacific seasonal workers in for new jobs to help rebuild after orchards wiped out

RSE workers will be offered a role to help in efforts to rebuild cyclone-affected regions, including in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne. Photo / Warren Buckland

Pacific seasonal workers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle are set to be offered new jobs as part of the mammoth clean-up of areas struck by severe flooding.

Government officials have reportedly told liaison officers for Pacific countries involved in the Recognised Seasonal Employment scheme of the development, after heavy flooding wiped out fruit orchards and vineyards in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

That also meant effectively wiping out the rest of the season for workers - many of whom travel to New Zealand and Australia under the RSE scheme to earn money for their families in the islands.

Country liaison for Vanuatu, Olivia Fleur Johnson, told the Herald that workers would also be sent to other regions around New Zealand to fill up gaps at different orchards and vineyards if their current employer did not have enough work for the rest of the season.

It is understood Immigration New Zealand will be allowing a variation to workers’ visas as a result.

Fiona Whiteridge, general manager refugee and migrant services for Immigration NZ, said some workers in Hawke’s Bay had already been able to resume or start work for employers unaffected by flooding.

“It is within the scope of the RSE scheme for employees to be asked to undertake appropriate clean-up activities at their employer’s properties.

“We are also working with industry and employers to assess the impact on the horticulture and viticulture sector - and to assess options to ensure RSE workers continue to have the opportunities to work in New Zealand if they wish to.”

Workers at an orchard on the banks of the Tutaekuri River in Hawke's Bay were forced onto roofs as floodwaters left them stranded. Photo / Lie Tu'imoala

The news comes after hundreds of RSE workers - many of whom live on site at orchards they work at in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne - were caught up in last week’s cyclone and subsequent severe flooding.

Some workers evacuated as a precaution before the cyclone hit. However, many others were captured on video footage, shared on Facebook, clambering onto the roofs of their accommodation units to get away from the rising floodwaters.

At least one group of workers had to fight through rising floodwaters as they desperately swam to safety.

There are nine Pacific nations involved in the RSE scheme, an initiative that started in 2007, which allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas for seasonal work when there are not enough Kiwi workers.

The countries who take part are: Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and Nauru.

As of last week, there were 8226 RSE workers around New Zealand, according to Immigration NZ.

Strong workforce ready to go

Of those people, a total of 3352 are based in Hawke’s Bay, 660 in the Bay of Plenty and 161 in Gisborne. The large majority of the workers are men.

Tongan community leader Pakilau Manase Lua acknowledged that this was a huge and strong workforce that was ready to get stuck in and help in the rebuild effort.

Lua is in Hawke’s Bay this week as part of the Aotearoa Tongan Response Group and a local whanau ora provider, Akiheuho, who travelled to the regions to provide food, supplies and donations to the community.

They are also offering assistance to Tongan RSE workers affected in the regions.

“The sad thing for me is seeing all the locals and residents who have lost everything all out there cleaning up what’s left.

“The devastation is real. You see [the images] on the TV screen, but it’s different when you’re here. It’s very sobering.”