Heartfelt response to appeal for Vanuatu visitors

March 15th, 2010
By David Armstrong

An informal appeal among caring Motuekans has produced a remarkably heartfelt response that will help ensure Vanuatu seasonal workers in the town are more easily able to access healthy food.

Renee Alleyne sent out an email last week to a circle of friends and acquaintances, along with a comment on Motueka Online's Discussion Forum (read it here), which included allegations that many Vanuatuans visiting to work here are being exploited by their employers and accommodation providers. This included an alleged example of one provider accomodating 18 Vanuatuans in a 4-bedroomed house, which has two toilets and three showers, and charging $115 each per week (not per day, as preciously reported here) for the privilege.

With repayments for their airfare, and sending some money home to their families, it is alleged they have very little left for food - perhaps as little as $60 to $80 in the hand per week to spend on their own food.

Motueka Online published this story last Saturday - read it here.

At the end of her email, Renee put out a request to those who have gardens to pass on any surplus produce from their harvest, which she would collect and pass on.

"On the first day a friend from Te Ataarangi dropped of a bag of peaches and mixed fruit to which I added my surplus nashi," she says. "The second day brought zuchinnis and cucumbers to the door, then there were potatos, and someone had plenty of tomatoes.

"An offer from the Riverside community produced some giant cabbages, zucchinis and assorted greens for the next few weeks for 54 people, and then to top it off a friend of a friend shot a couple of pigs up the Graham Valley and passed them on.

"Such a generous spirit we have here, one can only hope it will rub off on the employer who may be doubling or even tripling their production next year. Happy employees can only boost productivity, lets hope this generosity rubs off on the errant employer," Renee says.

Renee points out that not all accommodation providers are alleged to be exploiting workers. Some, including the Haywoods and the Inglis to name two, are providing fair deals.

Comment by Jana Prochazkova:
[Posted 15 March 2010]
I would like to explain that the Vanuatuans are not really underpaid, but there are many other debatable and controversial issues here.

The Vanuatuans really get only 50-80 dollars per week, but the rest is sent to an account which they can not touch until they leave. The employers explain this as a measure against drinking - they are afraid that if the Vanuatuans get too much money at once, they will just spend it on alcohol and useless things. In fact, this is to ensure the Pacific Islanders really leave the country.

The Vanuatuans have to pay certain amount every week to cover half of their airfare (the employer has to pay the other half). They also often have to repay the loans they got in order to fly to NZ. But they should not be charged for using the employer's van to get to work, as it is sometimes the case here.

The Pacific workers usually sign the contract in their islands, so they know a bit about the conditions before they come here. So unfortunately, there is nothing illegal with the fact that they get only a small part of their earnings every week. But, as they try to save and send money to their families, many end up with about 20 dollars used for food. As they admitted, some of them eat dog's food in order to save.

In short, some employers such as Birdhurst should not be blamed for exploiting the Vanuatuans, if they pay them only a part of their earnings, because this is one of the rules of the scheme they come under (RSE scheme). But, inquiries should be made about the workers' accommodation, its price and about personal relationship with the workers because this is controversial.

I have talked to several Vanuatuans working for a company in Motueka during the first season of RSE. They all refused recording and talking about their relationship with the management, fearing the loss of their jobs. According to another informant, the Vanuatuans were occasionally paid less then other workers, treated like "idiots," given short breaks, being shouted at . . . This employer had a too paternalistic approach to them. This should be addressed first instead of the system of payments.

As I found out, the Vanuatuans need any warm clothes, shoes and socks. It's getting cold and they don't have much money left to pay for this stuff. They work most of the time and can hardly get to Salvation Army or to Hospice shop, but Renee Alleyne is talking to the owners and they might open the shop some day at the weekend just for these people. She and her friends have also donated some food. Any donations of food and clothes will be appreciated!

Comment by Leo Coldstream Hylton-Slater:
[Posted 15 March 2010]
There is a situation before all this, that is making it difficult or impossible for orchardists to provide new on-orchard accommodation. This is that the cost for permits is said to be now over $30,000 before a building is even started, plus a host of inspection and approval fees. This leaves many orchardists unable to provide even basic but adequate accommodation. Thus a niche for entrepreneurial exploitation is created.

Fifteen years ago on-orchard accommodation was merely a few dollars, and that was then considered appropriate in that basic wages were minimal, and seem even more so now.

Surely it would be well for the local governments and central government to provide exemptions from building permit fees, and treating such capital development as a total tax refund? Such would, if only the lower of reasonable charges were assured, allow an improving situation for accommodation.

There is patently, and has been for some years, seething discontent amongst workers on some orchards about conditions and wages practises. It has to be remarked that there appear no such expressions of dissatisfaction about most other orchards.

Editor's note:
[Posted 16 March 2010]
Leo Coldstream Hylton-Slater, who raised the matter and since has been investigating and analysing this issue in detail, has provided a detailed 4-page document of his findings, which he continues to update. You can read his document here »

The Nelson Mail newspaper also investigated the matter and their reporter wrote this article »

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