The RSE scheme is entering into its 5th year during the 2011/12 season. It started quietly and nervously six years ago as a World Bank trial with a group of 45 Pacific Islanders (mostly Vanuatuans) in Central Otago. From day one (where they got up at 4am to make sure they would be ready in time for a 7am start), from my perspective the scheme has been an unqualified success.

In Central Otago during the growing season we had a real shortage of seasonal workers who were prepared to stay for a decent period. Prior to the scheme starting we had to rely on backpackers and seasonal Kiwis, most of whom would stay for a few days and just as they were getting productive would disappear. We have a core of permanent workers and do employ Kiwis when we have need for additional seasonal workers, but now the need for constant training has disappeared.

The Ni-Vans (as they like to be called) have shown a strong desire to work, are very reliable, are here for 7 months (unlike backpackers) and in my experience have a high return level (85%+). This has lead to significantly lower training costs and much higher productivity. In fact the Ni-Vans productivity has continued to increase each year that they have been here.

I am a member of the Seasonal Solutions Co-operative and it costs me about 5% of my wages bill for them to source the workers and deal with the onerous RSE paperwork requirements, organise housing (I provide transport), and provide pastoral care as well as being able to juggle workers between different co-operative members. This extra cost is more than offset when compared to the increase in flexibility and productivity, which we have measured as being somewhere between 25 and 50% higher (depending on the work being done). Allied to this is an increase in the quality of work being performed which is critical for our top end Pinot Noir.

There have been some issues, mostly centred around alcohol and poor health when the Ni-Vans arrive. We have become smarter about managing these and they are not posing anywhere near the level of issue that they did. There was also some initial minor resistance in the local community but this has evaporated and the Ni-Vans are now very much accepted.

I recently travelled to Vanuatu with Seasonal Solutions to recruit another 10 workers for this season. I used this as an opportunity to become more aware of their culture as well as understand the impact the RSE scheme is having on their communities. We have been hosting a student who is completing a PhD on the RSE scheme – her summation is that the scheme is 90% positive. The negative tends to relate to the concentration of wealth within a few hands – I am addressing this by rotating some of the workers by bringing in a few new workers each year.

I witnessed a lot of positives whilst in Vanuatu – money earned via the RSE scheme is being used to send children to high school and universities, building permanent (concrete block) houses, develop infrastructure (mostly water schemes) and start new businesses. I have tended to recruit from one area on the island of Ambrym and there is a community development board that has a number of development projects they want to undertake. I am supporting this in a number of ways, which generates a very positive feeling.

Over the whole of Central Otago, across both orchards and vineyards, the RSE scheme has taken out the uncertainty that used to exist with seasonal workers. It has not compromised any New Zealanders' jobs and has given us the ability to make a real difference to both our labour cost and work quality as well as to the Ni-Vans quality of life ■