RSE: a partnership that works for everyone

As the main horticulture season winds down, many of our Pacific seasonal workers are heading home to reunite with their families. For many growers, it’s a brief moment of calm. But it won’t last long.

By September, Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme workers will begin returning to New Zealand, many of them familiar faces to their Kiwi colleagues, to help our horticulture sector gear up for another busy season.

The RSE scheme is critical to the success of New Zealand’s horticulture industry and our export economy.

For nearly two decades, it has supported our growers through labour shortages during peak harvest times while also delivering meaningful benefits to Pacific Island communities.

This scheme is far more than just a labour mobility programme. It’s a people-to-people partnership with our Pacific neighbours that strengthens communities both here and in the islands. It provides opportunities for workers to support their families -- funding housing and training -- and contributes to long-term economic resilience.

New Zealand has around 80,000 hectares of land producing fruit and vegetables, feeding Kiwis and contributing to New Zealand’s economic return via exports.

These crops must be harvested at peak quality, which requires the assistance of seasonal workers, particularly as the sector expands. Zespri, for example, is forecasting a record kiwifruit crop of 200 million trays for the 2025/26 season, over half of which has already been shipped to global markets.

Growers always prioritise employing New Zealanders, but the reality is that domestic workers alone can’t meet peak seasonal demand.

That’s where the RSE Scheme comes in.

The RSE Scheme makes it possible for our growers to keep producing high-quality food, scaling up operations, and creating more permanent jobs for New Zealanders. Their contribution also enables our sector to remain globally competitive and sustainable.

Crucially, growers take their responsibilities as employers seriously. RSE workers receive strong pastoral care and support, and the sector is committed to continuous improvement.

A new initiative (currently being piloted), Whānau Moana Nui, meaning “family of the Pacific”, is centred around nurturing people. Whānau Moana Nui seeks to provide a world-class standard of industry-led, government-enabled Pacific labour mobility practices for grower employers that meet increasingly stringent market requirements around socially sustainable and ethical production practices.

It reinforces the sector’s shared values: doing right by our workers, fostering mutual respect, and meeting the high expectations of our customers, communities and international partners.

With the help of RSE workers, we can ensure our fruit and vegetables are harvested at their best, delivering economic value for New Zealand’s regions and supporting resilience and prosperity in the Pacific.

That’s a partnership worth protecting.