18 Apr 2007

Samoan seasonal worker sent home from New Zealand

5:44 am on 18 April 2007

The Samoa government says it will send back home a seasonal worker from the first group who left in early March to work for the Mr Apple company in New Zealand.

Mr Apple is the first company to have approached the government directly in need of ten people to work for the company early last month.

This is ahead of the seasonal scheme programme where five thousand workers from four Pacific countries, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands and Samoa will work in horticulture and viticulture farms in New Zealand for six to seven months.

The Samoan worker had to be returned according to the government's press office because he failed to comply with the conditions of the Scheme.

Instead of staying with the company the worker had gone and stayed with a relative in Auckland.

Meanwhile the chief executive officer of the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Auseugaefa Va'asatia Poloma will attend the signing of the Recognized Seasonal Employer Agreement or RSE between the New Zealand government and Pacific countries involved in the scheme later this week (Friday).