Hastings & Falealili to enter Friendship Agreement over RSE workers

Source: Hawkes Bay Today

The Hastings Mayor and Hastings District Council CEO will visit Samoa 22-25 May to strengthen relationships with communities that supply RSE workers to the region.

The Hawkes Bay Today reported the Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst as saying the Recognised Seasonal Employer workers are set to play a big part in helping the horticulture industry recover from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and CEO Nigel Bickle will enter into an official friendship agreement with the Samoan district of Falealili during the trip.

Last season, 150 workers from the Falealili district on the island of Upolu were employed in the Bay.

“Our horticulture industry has been seriously impacted by the cyclone – the devastation hit at the worst possible time as they prepared for harvest and the impact on their businesses and the regional economy as a whole is enormous,” Hazlehurst said.

“The RSE workers have already played, and will continue to play, a big part in supporting the sector’s recovery, and this friendship agreement will help to foster new relationships and strengthen those we already have.”

Hawke’s Bay is the largest RSE-employing region in New Zealand and thousands of RSE workers travel to the region each year to work in horticulture and viticulture sector.