Thursday, 19 March 2020 10:02

Seeking 300 workers

Written by  Pam Tipa
Seeka is looking for 300 local people to replace RSE workers from Malaysia. Seeka is looking for 300 local people to replace RSE workers from Malaysia.

RSE workers from Malaysia unable to leave their country because of a coronavirus lockdown there has led to a labour shortage for Seeka.

The horticulture business is looking for 300 local people across their kiwifruit orchard and post-harvest operations in Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Northland.

Seeka chief executive, Michael Franks says the usual flow of people to work for them in their eight facilities across the North Island has been impacted. 

“The number of backpackers through our doors is low, and a significant portion of our experienced Recognised Seasonal Employee (RSE) scheme employees have been restricted from departing their country,” he says.

Franks outlined that 135 RSE workers scheduled from Malaysia had been restricted by their Government closing its borders for both inbound and outbound travellers. The New Zealand Government had allowed these vacancies to be filled with workers from the Pacific Islands. However, Seeka is still 300 workers short.

“While we look to employ New Zealanders first and foremost, we also need to find other sources of workers such as backpackers and those from the RSE scheme as the harvesting and packing window of kiwifruit is relatively short,” Franks says. 

“To date around 5% of crop Seeka handles has been processed, for the moment we have coped – however in about three weeks we will hit peak flow and need far more numbers of people.

Each year Seeka needs 3,000 seasonal workers. Seasonal jobs start in March and finish around mid-June. 

 

More like this

Horticulture exports hit $8.4B, surge toward $10B by 2029

A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.

Featured

National

NZ growers lead freshwater compliance

Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that commercial fruit and vegetable growers are getting ahead of freshwater farm plan regulations through…

Machinery & Products

Yamaha acquires Robotics Plus

New Zealand based company Robotics Plus, a specialist in agricultural automation, has announced an agreement for it to be acquired…

Ecorobotix announces NZ dealership

Swiss-based Ecorobotix has announced its entry into the New Zealand market through a strategic partnership with Canterbury-based New Zealand Tractors.

Sorting unwashed potatoes made easy

Downs, a leader in potato reception, automated sorting, and storage, has introduced its new high-throughput optical sorter for unwashed potatoes…

Jumbo X saves time and money

A winner of a prestigious ‘Technical Innovations 2024’ award by FederUnacoma at the EIMA show in Italy, the Maschio Jumbo…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Overbearing?

OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…

Foot-in-mouth

OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter