SIMILAR PROGRAMS, DIFFERENT OUTCOMES?

The Wor ld Bank Pac ifi c Depar tmentwww.wordbank.org /

p i

RSE ConferenceJuly 9th, 2015

Jesse DoyleTimor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Pacific

IslandsThe World Bank

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Contribute to the economic development of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste; and

• Allow horticulture and viticulture businesses to supplement their NZ workforce with non-NZ citizen or resident workers when demand exceeds the available NZ workforce; and

• Offer a reliable, returning workforce who have a demonstrated unmet demand for labour and a commitment to Australian jobseekers.

• Promote best practice in the horticulture and viticulture industries to support economic growth and productivity of the industry as a whole;

CORE OBJECTIVES

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Stand-alone initiative predominantly in response to external pressure from Pacific Island countries for seasonal work opportunities

• RSE part of a wider industry strategy to address seasonal labour issues in the horticulture and viticulture industries

SUPPLY VS. DEMAND DRIVEN

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Larger industry spread out over 7,686,850 km2

• Relatively weak compliance on illegal workers in horticulture

• Far more condensed industry spread out over 267,710 km2

• Strong compliance on illegal workers in horticulture, reducing their numbers substantially since the introduction of the RSE

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Range of employer associations in horticulture nominally involved

• One employer association took lead role

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Initiated by Government with minimal involvement from employer associations.

• Initiated by Government taskforce with the strong involvement of Horticulture New Zealand in the design of the program.

↕ ↕ ↕

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Harsher penalties for Approved Employers (A$10,000)

• If any RSE worker breaches the terms and conditions of their visa, employer must pay costs (to a maximum of $NZ3,000) required to return them to country of residence

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Lack of cultural connection/ geographically dispersed Pacific diaspora (139,000)

• Lack of recent experience recruiting Pacific labour into the horticulture industry

• Strong historic connection between NZ and Pacific/ geographically concentrated and larger diaspora (230,000)

• Recent experience recruiting Pacific labour to work in horticulture/ viticulture

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal Worker Program Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

• Little or no direct involvement of employer associations;

• Direct involvement of Horticulture NZ through dedicated RSE Officer;

• Mix of labour hire companies, contractors and employers recruiting directly;

• More of a focus on employers recruiting directly or through grower cooperatives;

• Fixed requirement for employer to pay full upfront costs, with $500 deductible from international airfare;

• Different methods of payment of workers’ upfront costs used in practice despite requirement to pay half workers’ airfare;

• Little flexibility in the minimum time period the worker has to be engaged;

• More flexibility in the time period the worker can be engaged for;

• Employment in horticulture spread across the length and breadth of the country;

• Employment in horticulture concentrated in geographic clusters;

• Pilot program started with only labour hire companies as Approved Employers; and

• Grower cooperatives took lead as approved employers, gained support of large employers; and

• Pacific seasonal workers must stay with Approved Employer who has sponsored them.

• Pacific seasonal workers permitted to move between employers based on a joint agreement to recruit (ATR).

DIFFERENCES IN PRACTICE

RSE VISAS GRANTED/ ANNUAL CAP

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/150

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

4486

6821

6216

7091 70097456

7855

Visas Granted (RSE) Cap (RSE)

SWP VISAS GRANTED/ ANNUAL CAP

2009-12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/150

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

16331473

2014 2047

Visas Granted (SWP) Cap (SWP)

Tonga Kiribati VanuatuAustralia’s Seasonal Worker Program

Number of workers in first two years of scheme

132 11 10

Net income gain to country from first two years of program ($A)

343,200 28,600 26,000

Australian bilateral aid (2009/10) 16,800,000 13,000,000 45,600,000

Net income gain as a % of bilateral aid 2.0% 0.2% 0.1%

New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme

Number of workers in first two years of scheme

1,971 86 3,590

Net income gain to country from first two years of program ($A)

4,336,200 189,200 7,898,000

New Zealand bilateral aid (2009/10) 10,3250,000 4,797,000 16,830,000

Net income gain as a % of bilateral aid 4.2% 3.9% 46.9%

DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES

THE NEW SEASONAL WORKER PROGRAM

Changes from 1 July 2015:

Program uncapped The national cap on the number of workers participating in the

SWP will be removed entirely;

Expanded to the broader agriculture industry and tourism This will incorporate the former “trial sectors” (accommodation,

aquaculture, cotton and cane);

More fl exibility The minimum stay requirement of 14 weeks will be removed,

provided workers receive a net financial benefit of $A1,000 during their stay;

THE NEW SEASONAL WORKER PROGRAM

Changes from 1 July 2015:

Reforms to cost-sharing arrangements Government will simplify cost-sharing arrangements by

combining the employer’s contribution to each seasonal worker’s international and domestic airfare to a total of $500; and

Further reforms to be announced by 1 July 2016 The Government plans to further cut red tape to the

program over the course of the next financial year.

THE NEW SEASONAL WORKER PROGRAM

Industry engagement remains the key challenge Ultimately seasonal worker schemes are demand driven – what are

the key lessons Australia can learn from New Zealand in this sphere?

New Zealand has set the pace Both in terms of visas granted under the RSE and net development

impacts for participating countries

Huge opportunity for Pacifi c Island Countries to exploit in Australia with the SWP now Agriculture industry employs 244,720 people Accommodation and Food Services employ 638,568 people

What will it take to ensure that these potential gains are captured by Pacifi c Island countries?

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Wor ld Bank Pac ifi c Depar tmentwww.wordbank.org/

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