'Not here for a holiday': What standards RSE workers should expect

Accommodation for seasonal rural workers should prioritize low costs over high quality to maximize wages, according to Professor Richard Bedford, an academic specializing in migration. However, a union warns that some housing, particularly barracks-style accommodations during winter, is already substandard. Police have identified unsafe and unreasonable accommodation as one of the biggest risks in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) system.

The government recently announced changes to the RSE scheme, which allows short-term recruitment from Asia and the Pacific to work on farms, orchards, and vineyards. Some exemplary employers could receive six-year accreditation, and workers could apply for migrant exploitation visas to leave abusive employers. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford indicated accommodation proposals will be announced next month.

Waikato University Emeritus Professor Bedford welcomed the accreditation change but acknowledged that accommodation would be a more challenging issue to address. He emphasized that workers' primary concern is the proportion of their wages spent on living in New Zealand, as they come to earn money and take the maximum amount home, not to take a holiday.

Building temporary accommodation for a workforce that stays for only half a year or slightly more is a significant challenge, and many RSEs rely on third-party providers. The police warn that poor accommodation remains a key concern, especially for Pacific workers, and undermines public acceptance of the RSE scheme. An International Labour Organisation report highlighted blacklisting of workers who make complaints and wage deductions as key concerns.

Bedford believes most employers are compliant, but isolated breaches dominate the debate and overshadow the scheme's broader benefits to workers, their home countries, and the horticulture industry.