Transcript
Anthony Rarere from Pick Hawkes Bay has been recruiting in the Pacific as part of the RSE programme for years.
Lately, his experience on the ground in Solomon Islands has been plagued by intimidation and extortion attempts, particularly in Honiara.
This includes pressure from even government officials for him to recruit family members.
Mr Rarere says it's never an easy time recruiting in the country.
"The last time I went I got threatened by a police officer unless I employed his wife. The year before that, we were driving down a main road and someone threw a rock through our window. And when we had a thousand people show up for recruitment, and most of them couldn't get jobs, they got quite violent and abusive. We were very close to coming home, after the threats came through on the texts. So because of that we kind of thought, well, let's cut the numbers a bit."
When Mr Rarere tried taking these issues to authorities in Honiara, he felt his concerns were dismissed, and nothing has been done since.
The Solomon Islands High Commissioner in New Zealand, Joy Kere, says her government has taken note.
While playing down the level of threat to recruiters, she says the government is taking measures to ensure they are protected by the local Labour Mobility Unit.
"They can help to facilitate the meetings, they can help who to support him during this recruitment process. Now we hope that we will reach a stage where we don't need extra security or extra support beyond the normal kind of working thing. I think we can guarantee the protection like we guarantee everyone else that comes to Solomon Islands."
About 600 Solomon Islandes are employed under the RSE this year, of which Pick Hawke's Bay is hiring 133.
Anthony Rarere says Solomon Islanders are reliable workers who come from a context of poverty and lack of opportunity.
"Unemployment is so high over there. We have people who have jobs over there but still would rather give up their job to come over and work in New Zealand for six months, because they can earn more in six months in New Zealand than they can earn in three years working in Solomon Islands."
RSE is widely considered a mutually beneficial scheme for New Zealand's industries and Pacific Island communities who provide workers...
...workers like Janet Meimana, a Solomon Islander currently picking Blueberries in Hawkes Bay.
"We send money back home to help our families because on the island they are short of food. And so we have to send money back to help our families."
And without RSE workers, New Zealand would be 10,000 people short in the horticulture sector.
One RSE employer is John Evans of RJ Flowers.
"Fruit has to be picked, the job has to be done on time. If it's not done in a timely fashion, the job becomes a really costly job. So we recognise - and I think we all do - that the economy is growing. we need more good staff with good attitudes, and these guys just fit the bill, one hundred percent."
Meanwhile, Joy Kere says that after almost a decade of Solomon Islands involvement in the scheme, much has been learnt and processes are being reviewed to improve the system.
For more on this, listen to VOICES today at 3:30, during Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ National.
