RSE workers vital to growers in New Zealand

In commercial fruit and vegetable growing, timing is critical - and Tasman apple grower Duncan Cederman says without Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers, getting that right would be impossible.

“Whatever the crop, you have to do the job at the right time, and you need the labour to do it,” he says.  “Without RSE workers, we simply couldn’t get the jobs done when we need to.”

That need for reliable seasonal support is shared by growers across the country.

For almost two decades, the RSE scheme has helped New Zealand horticulture through peak harvest while supporting Pacific families and communities.

Workers help get fruit and vegetables picked at their best and delivered fresh to local and global markets, bringing revenue into regional communities and the national economy.

For Cederman, operations manager and third-generation grower for Riwaka-based Cederman Brothers, certainty about that support matters.

He says the changes to the RSE scheme, to be rolled out in 2027, strike a good balance for workers and growers. He hopes there will be no further upheaval.

“The industry has had a long period of uncertainty around what the changes would be. The new RSE policy settings have provided more certainty but there is still work to do with the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)operationalising them. “

That call for certainty is echoed by Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ), which welcomes the policy review outcomes and has been urging MBIE to implement them swiftly. The changes will help growers, workers and Pacific communities realise the benefits and strengthen confidence in the scheme.

At Cederman Brothers, HR and RSE manager Melissa Cullen sees the need for that certainty first-hand. While the business also employs New Zealanders, she says it would be impossible to run the 82ha orchard without RSE support.

“We try to get New Zealand workers first, including through the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).

“We have a focus on pastoral care and work to upskill our MSD people and deal with any issues, like getting used to being in their first job.

“However, it’s impossible to find enough New Zealand workers long term. It’s demanding physical work. Some people don’t want to work five days a week, or they leave after a few weeks.”

The staffing pressures Cullen describes underpin HortNZ’s advocacy for immigration settings that reflect the realities of horticulture and give growers and Pacific partners long-term certainty.

The RSE scheme is critical to the sector’s goal of doubling horticulture farm gate production values by 2035.

It’s also essential for feeding New Zealanders. Around 80 per cent of all vegetables grown domestically are consumed by Kiwi households.

“There are seasonal RSE workers working for businesses country-wide,” says Cullen. We couldn’t grow our businesses without them, do new planting, harvest at critical times or build new packhouses.

“When businesses grow, benefits flow out to the wider community in terms of other services and suppliers you use,  so it’s very important to rural economies.”

Cederman Brothers has been employing RSE workers for 16 years. Many have returned every season and now undertake leadership roles.

Its strong focus on supporting workers saw the company named Recognised Seasonal Employer of the Year in 2025. They also consistently win gold medals in Samoa’s assessments of RSE employers.

In 2020, Cederman Brothers was named a Golden Partner of the Marist Samoa International Sevens, sponsoring a disability rugby team in partnership with the UN Samoa Office.

Over the years, they have seen the many benefits RSE workers take back into their Pacific communities.

“Many have used their earnings to set up family businesses,” says Cullen. “Many have shops, taxis, or their own growing operations for produce like taro. There was a recent photo on the Samoan RSE page of several of our team who’d bought new family cars.

“They also use it to educate their children, through school and college. So their communities and countries benefit.”

The company employs 62 RSE workers at peak harvest, mainly from Samoa, with some from Fiji.

“Samoa’s Work Ready Pool send me profiles and our longstanding RSE leaders do the interviews and choose people. That’s worked really well,” says Cullen.

“I went out to Fiji, worked with their building employment team and visited villages and met potential workers. I selected people who were working on farms because they really needed the RSE opportunity the most.”

Alongside recruitment comes a responsibility to look after workers. Across the sector, worker welfare is a top priority, with growers providing strong pastoral care and working closely with Immigration New Zealand to uphold high standards.

At Cederman Brothers, that means well-equipped accommodation and respect for workers’ culture and values, alongside practical support and opportunities to learn.

They provide skills training, including through the NOA – Village of Learning programme, and promote participation in community health programmes, including around diabetes awareness and healthy living.

“We put them through forklift training so they get their forklift licences, first aid training and a lot of short courses,” says Cullen.

“Most are very skilled now, they can do any job they need to and supervise others. They just get on with everyone, get on with the job and do it well.

“I’m their pastoral support and they come to me if they have any questions or need help with anything.

“They just drop by my house. I’ve been with the company for 20 years and in this role for 10. My children have grown up with many of our RSE workers, they are often out playing tackle with them.

“We provide transport and take them to set up everything they need here, such as to the bank and the doctor.”

The company encourages participation in community initiatives, including paying for RSE teams to enter local sporting competitions such as touch rugby – they are proud of the Cederman Brothers RSE success in regional volleyball tournaments.

“We don’t work on Sundays here and they go to a range of different churches and are very involved,” says Cullen.

“I took a group to our local school last year for sharing of cultural knowledge. The kids did a haka and our men did a Samoan haka and helped with the hangi.

“Everyone loved it, they were having waiata battles. We were laughing and crying, it was very emotional and so successful the school has asked us to do it again.

“Many of our RSE team are so well known here now, they speak great English and know a lot of people in the community - they are a vital part of the community.

“The programme is so important for horticulture, for New Zealand and for the workers themselves. It’s essential for growing exports and growing food for New Zealanders. We need RSE workers and they need us and want to work with us because it means they can do a lot more for their families, their communities and their countries back home.”

The relationships Cullen describes reflect what is at the heart of the RSE scheme: a partnership with the Pacific that goes beyond seasonal labour.

At a sector level, listening to growers and Pacific partners has led to Whānau Moana Nui™ - meaning ‘family of the Pacific’ - a pilot initiative to strengthen the scheme’s reputation and uphold the very best standards of worker care and ethical labour mobility.

HortNZ is working with Pacific countries and RSE employers on the pilot to promote world-class, industry-led practices that meet customers’ expectations and reflect shared values. The focus is on doing right by workers and their communities.

“The RSE scheme is a genuine win-win,” says Cullen.

“It helps deliver healthy food to New Zealand and the world while uplifting Pacific families and communities. It is a partnership that sustains communities, creates jobs and must be preserved and strengthened.”