‘Frustration’ over RSE delays
Delays by Immigration New Zealand in processing Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) staff has caused ‘‘frustration’’ among Marlborough winegrowers.
The delays occurred in September and October, and meant the Agreement to Recruit (ATR) applications were late by a week.
Immigration NZ said the delays were caused because information provided by employers needed to be clarified.
Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens said the delays caused ‘‘frustration’’ and Immigration NZ needed to look at what happened.
‘‘It’s not ideal really, I mean hopefully the [Immigration NZ] unit does their own analysis and they figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. It’s just a frustration really.
Immigration NZ area manager Michael Carley said there were no current delays but processing Agreement to Recruit applications could vary on what information was needed.
‘‘Delays can occur if information provided by employers needs to be clarified, and this contributed to some delays during September and October this year.
‘‘In response, INZ (Immigration NZ) added additional immigration officers, a dedicated manager and administrative support to the RSE unit,’’ Carley said.
Some vineyards in Marlborough had still not caught up on the lost time due to the delays, Pickens said.
‘‘It did get resolved but we’re still behind the work. So these people we like to come in sort of late October, so it’s been, what, six weeks? And we’re still behind, so we haven’t caught up.’’
New Zealand Winegrowers general manager for advocacy and general counsel Jeffrey Clarke assured the delays were resolved smoothly.
‘‘I know that there were some members in Marlborough that were really concerned about the situation and I just wanted to reassure them that it all went smoothly,’’ Clarke said.
Immigration NZ said all Agreement to Recruit applications had been approved in 2017.
‘‘As it stands, all ATR applications for RSE workers scheduled to arrive this calendar year have been decided. ATRs for 2017 have had a 100 per cent approval rate,’’ Carley said.
Pickens said the delay was a disappointment for both the RSE workers and the contractors.
‘‘So that actually put a huge amount of pressure on not just the RSE contractors, which I have some empathy for, they were working their plans out and man- aging the whole process and then they couldn’t get the government approval to move the workers.’’
Pickens believed the delays would impact RSE workers’ earnings at the end of the season.
‘‘It would have definitely impacted this season. It impacts the workers’ total earnings at the end of the season and in some ways to catch up [on lost time], you have to work everyone harder,’’ Pickens said.
Carley said Immigration NZ would welcome feedback from Recognised Seasonal Employers.
‘‘INZ will use any stakeholder feedback on this year’s RSE season to see if there are any ways to improve our processes and systems for assessing ATRs.’’