Tuesday, 29 June 2021 06:55

No idea!

Written by  Peter Burke
Growers are concerned the Government doesn't understand the labour needs of the industry. Growers are concerned the Government doesn't understand the labour needs of the industry.

Apple and pear growers around the country have slammed the Government's handling of the overseas workers who pick a substantial amount of NZ's apple crop each year.

Richard Punter, chairman of Apple and Pears NZ, says the Government simply doesn't understand the role performed by these people, who work under the RSE or recognised seasonal employer scheme.

Punter says describing these people as 'unskilled workers' is naïve and uncharitable. He says the real situation is quite the opposite.

"The RSE's are not unskilled labour. The fact is they are skilled animal workers," he told Rural News. "Describing them as cheap and unskilled is offensive. We have multi-generational families that come over from the Pacific Islands and work in NZ year after year."

Hunter says "people in Wellington" don't understand that in the apple industry, at a particular time of the year and in a puff of smoke, thousands of skilled manual workers appear in the country, pick the crop and in six weeks' time they disappear again.

"It's not a job, it's not a career. It's a task that has to be done at particular point in time and with speed and with particular skills," he adds.

Punter believes the problem is not unique to NZ. He says Britain has a similar problem where thousands of dollars has been spent advertitising for local people to take jobs in the primary sector and few have turned up or stayed on.

"As a university professor says that phenomenon should not come as any surprise as the work ethic has been bred out of many people."

He saw this on his own property where two young people "gave up" working after just a matter of hours because "they didn't like the manual work".

Punter says despite the labour shortages, larger apple producers will soldier on - even if their yields and returns are down and some of their fruit is not picked.

"The people who will badly hurt are the small family orchards," he explains. "This government has chucked them under the bus and just don't care. At the same time, the current generation of business leaders have never had to deal with a government that just takes a decision and does it."

Punter says this is placing huge stress on these people.

"The current Labour Government doesn't have to talk to coalition partners, there is no negotiation and they have a specific, ideological position they are determined to implement."

More like this

Good season for apples

Brydon Nisbet, the president of Hawke's Bay Fruit Growers Federation, says the mood of growers in Hawke's Bay is quite upbeat because it's been a good season for apples.

Pipfruit sector's huge economic impact

OPINION: When we set out to document the economic impact of New Zealand's apple and pear industry, we expected to see a trickle-down effect somewhere along the way.

Featured

Gongs for best field days site

Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.

Feed help supplements Canterbury farmers meet protein goals

Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.

National

Machinery & Products

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

Grabbing bales made quick and easy

Front end loader and implement specialist Quicke has introduced the new Unigrip L+ and XL+ next-generation bale grabs, designed for…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Risky business

OPINION: In the same way that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, economists sometimes get it right.

Should've waited

OPINION: The proposed RMA reforms took a while to drop but were well signaled after the election.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter