RSE monitoring: 2014 employers’ survey

The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) policy allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas - mostly from the Pacific Islands - for seasonal work when there are not enough New Zealand workers. Under the scheme employers can bring in up to 9,000 workers a year. Nearly all the 79 RSE employers who took part in the 2014 Employers Survey believed that the benefits of taking part in the scheme outweigh the costs and praised it as meeting the needs of New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture growers. The survey found that participation in RSE has resulted in better quality and more productive workers, a more stable workforce than in the past and the ability to employ more New Zealand workers in addition to RSE workers