Last year the sector reported a shortage of 1200 workers and was forced to declare an official labour shortage, hard on the heels of the apple industry.
This season’s crop estimates are reported slightly up on last year’s 150 million tray harvest, prompting the sector to try to front foot any shortage before harvest kicks off in coming weeks.
Funded through Kiwifruit Growers the Kiwifruit Jobs NZ campaign aims to rekindle interest in the seasonal sector by emphasising the sector’s pay rates, accommodation availability, flexibility and work variety to locals as much as to traditional backpacking workers.
“I am not sure we have seen such a campaign before from a seasonal sector with industries like dairying running campaigns aimed more at full-time, permanent type work,” Kiwifruit Growers chief executive Nikki Johnson said.
The shortages have resulted from a combination of high employment rates, fewer people on working holiday visas choosing to work in the industry and what Johnson describes as outdated preconceptions around pay rates and worker welfare.
Kiwifruit Growers’ labour needs analysis survey last year found pay rates for the sector average $20.95 an hour. Unskilled pack house workers earned $16.13 while skilled pack house roles can earn on average $19.23 an hour and some positions like forklift operators earn up to $38 an hour.
That survey was done before the minimum wage was raised to $16.50 an hour.
“Workers will find that orchard work will tend to pay higher rates with Gold harvesting at about $20.57 an hour with hours typically shorter and more likely to be interrupted by weather,” she said.
Pack house work tends to be at a lower rate but offers longer shifts and is not as weather dependent.
The upcoming opening of a Waikato University campus provides a new source of seasonal staff while Kiwifruit Growers is investigating the interest from the high proportion of retirees in Bay of Plenty.
“This would involve looking at shorter shifts, more flexible days on and off. There are also what we call underutilised workers, such as mothers who may be able to work together job sharing shifts.”
Bay of Plenty gets an extra 350 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from the 1750 extra workers permitted this season, with all regions receiving about 60% of the staff they requested from the Government.
But Johnson is adamant the RSE scheme is not the magic bullet to deal with the sector’s impending shortages.
“There is room for further RSE growth in Bay of Plenty. They are a small part of our total workforce.”
The work promotion programme is also a concerted effort by the industry to demonstrate to Labour Minister Iain Lees-Galloway the sector is doing all it possibly can to attract local workers.
“Last year, after the labour shortage issue was raised through the media we were surprised at just how much interest there was and the number of people who applied as a result.”
Efforts to improve worker welfare and dispel the belief seasonal workers are not well treated are also part of the campaign.
From last year all employers must be registered and audited through a global assessment programme to ensure workers’ rights are met.
A shortage of accommodation has also long been a challenge and the industry has been pushing to get the prohibitive cost of accommodation construction reduced.
“This has been quite a hot point with the minister.”
Social media is being widely used to promote the campaign and increase worker awareness about the types of jobs available and what to expect when taking on seasonal work.
A new Facebook page and You Tube videos with links to Kiwifruit Growers target younger workers.
Johnson said it is possible the campaign will provide an open door to get workers into full-time, year-round jobs in a sector now capable of offering work for 48 weeks a year.
The campaign is not a one off effort with estimates kiwifruit tray volumes are likely to lift from 140m now to almost 200m in six years.
