NZ seasonal workers scheme

The Fiji government said it had received reports from the New Zealand government about misconduct and disorderly behaviour among Fijian workers.

The Employment Minister Jone Usamate said the offending workers' village or settlement would not be allowed to take part in either the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme or its Australian equivalent, the Australia Seasonal Worker Programme .

In New Zealand's region of Hawke's Bay, there's an increased demand for Pacific workers contracted through the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

The General Manager of Focus Contracting Ltd, Linley King, said the industries would not have grown as much as they had in the past decade without the involvement of Pacific islands workers.

She said the companies that hire the workers - who come from countries like Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Solomon Islands - benefitted when these people returned for successive seasons.