RSE workers

Tuilaepa issued the warning as the government expelled and indefinitely blacklisted ten workers for various reasons.

The decision was handed down by the Prime Minister this week after he was informed by Samoa’s Auckland based Trade Commissioner Magele Mauiliu Magele and the RSE Liaison Officer based in New Zealand, Lemalu Nele Leilua.

The Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour, Lautafi Selafi Purcell told Newsline Samoa that his intentions are serious.

He said the government would not condone infidelity that would cause social upheavals at home.

He said there was only one end for any infidelity while on the scheme and that was a one-way ticket home.

Since the scheme started, acts of infidelity have been immortalised, albeit humorously, in song but it has taken on a more serious tone after formal complaints from spouses reached the ear of the prime minister.

The body's chief executive, Nikki Johnson, said this reflected the current labour shortage facing the industry in the Bay of Plenty region.

The cap was increased from 10,500 to 11,100 for this year's season and around 2000 RSE workers would operate in the Bay of Plenty at some point, Ms Johnson said.

An extra 1200 workers were needed over the next month, however, to pick and pack the kiwifruit crop, she said.

The issue was raised by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi during bilateral talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters in Apia this week.

And Prime Minister Tuilaepa during his weekly media programme with Taimi male Palemia and Talamua.com remains confident that Wellington will consider the merits of the request from Apia.

“The RSE employers are singing praises for our Samoan workers.

The temporary migrant labour scheme celebrated its tenth anniversary in Blenheim in July 2017 after initially being introduced in 2007 to assist the New Zealand horticultural industry find a stable workforce whilst improving the economies of the Pacific Islands.

However, RSE Liaison Officer for the Tongan Government Sefita Hao’uli believes the time has come to train workers to transition back to living permanently at home after finishing their time on the scheme.

The minister for government enterprises, Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell, announced the move last week after a trip to New Zealand to visit Samoan RSE workers in Hawkes Bay, Nelson, and Tauranga.

Lautafi said RSE workers he spoke with in New Zealand said they supported the move.

He said the contributions will be deducted from their salaries.

The memorandum of understanding signed on Monday will advance the government's involvement in the selection process, which is managed by village leaders.

RNZI reports Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet chief executive Agafili Tomaimano Shem Leo said information would now be shared with the government to ensure workers are prepared for their jobs.

Samoa's chief executive officer for the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Agafili Shem Leo, said 4,000 applicants had been registered for the next season.

The government said that if Samoa is to increase the number of people participating it is essential they send the best possible people who are physically and mentally fit.

Agafili said the recent deaths of two RSE while in New Zealand and Australia had nothing to do with the new test.

He said the pilot programme had been months in the making.

This responds positively to the demands of the Pacific Island Countries in the PACER Plus negotiations, which seek to enhance their participation in international trade. 

In June 2015, Australia took the unprecedented step in lifting the cap under the Seasonal Workers Program and extended it to the entire agriculture sector and to the accommodation sector in selected locations in the country.