Two more Tongan workers have been sent home from their Recognised Seasonal Employers, triggering calls for better vetting for the scheme.
It's not the first time Tongan workers have absconded from their RSE appointments but the most recent also disappeared with a company vehicle and were eventually found hundreds of kilometres away in Auckland.
In February Tonga's government also ordered eight workers to return home for excessive alcohol consumption.
The Chair of the Tongan Advisory Council, Melino Maka, told Koro Vaka'uta there needs to be better vetting of potential RSE workers.
Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
Transcript
MELINO MAKA: You have to go back to the process that some of these people have been recruited from. It shows you that there must be a gap in terms of how they have been vetted and also the relationship between those who provide pastoral care here and the workers. If this is going to be a pattern, that you can bring some of these people here to work and they use the opportunity to walk away from this scheme, it must be that we have to have a look at the process. This RSE scheme is vitally important for Tonga. It provides immediate income for the country but also those families. I think the blame should be laid fair and square at the government. At the end of the day, the buck stops with them. If they can't provide a system and a process that you can actually vet these people properly and provide the support while they are here then we need to have a good luck at the way the scheme has been operated, basically from Tonga.
KORO VAKA'UTA: You mention the government, I know you were a part of the group that met with them, they were here recently or at least the Prime Minister, to meet with these programme participants so it's kind of bad timing that things are still not ironed out.
MM: The sad thing about that meeting, there was nothing discussed as solutions, it was just like a talking fest. I just felt the meeting was [a result of] pressure from us for the government to meet with us because there was a number of outstanding things that we wanted to discuss with the government. The meeting was help right by the reception of the hotel. It was quite embarrassing to just sit there and we can't have a good conversation about some of the issues that we wanted to raise with him, including the RSE workers. Because one of the things he raised was that we should be calling out for the family to help us and also call for that person to come forward. Those things like that should never ever come to the point where the Prime Minister of Tonga made a special visit here to come and talk with (employer) Mr Apple about the issue that Tonga can't handle the RSE workers. They need to have an independent review [about] the way the RSE workers have been handled. Not only that vetting system, but providing that support. Also that outstanding issue that some of the workers felt that maybe the pay is not enough to live on. Those things like that.
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