I was thinking about the courgette farmer who says Kiwis simply won’t work the hours that RSE workers do. It’s total rubbish - just look at the hours dairy farm hands do during calving. The difference being a dairy farm hand on average gets $25 p/h + a house for them & family.

Whereas an RSE worker gets the minimum wage (or just above), board of approx $150 p/w deducted for a bunk bed in a make shift hostel style room, deductions for other things such as transport to/from farm, flights etc & their family have to stay in their home county.

The difference between a NZ citizen or resident & an RSE worker is the huge power imbalance. Many Kiwis don’t work for the above terrible Ts & Cs bc they don’t have to. So really what many farmers are asking for is to be allowed to bring RSE workers in to exploit them.

I don’t support people working 7 days a week from dawn to dusk. However I thought it was important to point out the false narrative the courgette farmer was trying to advance.

If the RSE scheme is to continue, the Government desperately need to implement a Fair Pay Agreement for RSE workers & they need to invest proper resources into ensuring the FPA is being complied with. The current working terms & conditions of many RSE workers is shameful.