On behalf of the Seeka Team please accept our best wishes for the season and thanks for your support over the year. I thought I might deviate and not talk directly about kiwifruit in my last blog of the year.
RSE Scheme – a great story for our Industry and community
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Samoa to visit their Government officials and spend the day talking about our RSE workers and review the scheme. It is the first time Seeka had visited Samoa with other New Zealand employers visiting annually. It was a great chance for me to review the scheme and see the impact that it was having on their home communities as well as fine tune any issues we were having [which were minor].
Seeka recruits and employs 97 Samoan workers of which 28 come directly to Seeka and 69 come to Seeka after working in the apple industry in the Hawkes Bay. These people leave their villages, families and communities to come and work for us between 5 and 7 months of the year working in our packhouse or orchards. At home families typically live on 1 or 2 hectare plots with small plantations of bananas and coconuts living sustainably from the land, they are largely self-sufficient. Excess produce is sold in stands at the road side and respectfully in places there is not a lot of free cash. Properties are well presented, and all the people we met were very happy.
Seeka had an excellent review with the officials. People who have come to work with Seeka have earned good money and our support staff and principle contractors in particular have taken excellent care of them. The report back was that Seeka was at the top of the ranking and a preferred employer. It seems that a hallmark of a successful program is the relationship between the orchard manager or contractor principal and the RSE team and team leader. Contractors like Phil Smith and Sam Yong have formed strong relationships with their overseas workers that come to work directly for Seeka. They have taken extra steps to ensure their welfare and happiness in addition to making sure they work hard and achieve the job for us. Little things like dinners, fishing trips, prize draws and trips to the rugby are examples of things that our people do to make the RSE workers stay at Seeka better than just coming here to work.
The money earned by the RSE workers has been put to good effect. The initial money repatriated home has focussed on improving the housing, cooking areas and sanitation for their village. However, some people who have been working in New Zealand for longer have started to invest in projects that will yield sustainable income going forward. Good examples are investments in equipment to manufacture concrete blocks for construction, or in vehicles used as taxi’s that employ extended family members generating further income to the village.
There are many aspects to a successful program. I was humbled to be able to visit and be welcomed into their communities and visit albeit for one day. Our people, our company and the orchards that use these contractor gangs have had a profound effect on the lives of these people. It is clear to me that our managers have formed a special relationship with the Samoan workers and people to the extent that some have named their children after our managers. Seeka has three people dedicated on staff to the planning, care and attention of these people.
In addition to the 97 RSE workers from Samoa, Seeka also has 89 RSE workers from the Solomon Islands, 30 from Vanuatu and 245 from Malaysia and we are richer for their presence amongst us.
As we close out to Christmas – I thought it might be good to share what is and has been a fantastically positive aspect of our business with you.
On behalf of Team Seeka, have a great and safe Christmas and New Year. Thank you for your support.
Kind regards
Michael
Seeka Key
Contacts