13 Jan 2009

Samoa lifts workforce number for RSE employment in New Zealand

3:57 pm on 13 January 2009

The number of Samoan workers to work in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme has increased by 50 percent since last year.

The CEO of the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Auseuga'efa Va'asatia Poloma, says 1,000 Samoan seasonal workers are expected to work in New Zealand under the scheme this year.

Mr Poloma says this comes after New Zealand increased its job opportunities for the five Pacific countries involved from 5,000 to 8,000 last November.

He says another large group of workers from Samoa will leave at the end of January to be followed by another group in February.