RSE - STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY George Mason General Manager - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

RSE - STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY

George Mason – General Manager Employment Services 2018 Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Conference

RSE – Current State…

• Well established and administered
• National application
• Critical element of horticulture/viticulture business
• Rules of the game understood
• Supporting infrastructure
• Broad authorising mandate
• Maturing

… but a range of persistent concerns…

• Inherent vulnerability of RSE workers
• ‘Compliant’ workforce
• Opportunism in treatment
• Increasing hours of work
• Entitlements not paid
• Productivity gains not recognised
• Expense/Deduction creep
• Poor accommodation standards
• Deficiencies in broader pastoral care
• Resistance to formal organisation
• Maturity ‘patchy’
• Interface with broader labour market objectives

… more specifically…

• Accommodation and pastoral care should be coming to self regulation stage, still

working with a few on accommodation standards

• Increasing weekly accommodation costs in many areas; must be actual,

reasonable and necessary, with no margin for the employer

• Current ranges from $60 up top $175; the top end LI/INZ have pushed back on

and the employer has been requested to find cheaper alternative

• Range of facilities with accommodation differs markedly; Sky TV, cleaning, heating

provided, etc.

• Concern around the increasing deductions - LI position is no deductions

permitted for; welcome packs, bed packs, toiletry packs, wood packs, house management fees, etc.

• Charging for tools and PPE which are essential to the employees duties (potential

HSWA prosecution)

• Remuneration may not be recognising productivity gains
• Criticism of suppressing terms, conditions, and development of local labour.

… and the regulators are not going away...

• RSE scheme remains a focus
• “On-hire labour” a priority area for MBIE
• Resourcing increasing
• Active monitoring of hours of work, remuneration and

broader conditions beyond ‘baseline’

• Expectation of compliance – ‘zero tolerance’
• Critical risk in compliance failure – scheme exit
• Opportunism will result in investigation

… but it’s not just about compliance

• Supporting sector operated assurance schemes
• Encouraging greater sector ‘leadership’ and ‘ownership’
• Working with sector capability building initiatives
• Seeking to recognise and reward maturity
• Gaining full value from RSE for all participants

And supporting resources are available…

Employment Agreement Builder

• Easy, tailored employment

agreements, legally compliant agreements

• 500,000 new agreements

based on it since April 2016

Tools and resources for small business, e.g.

Employee Cost Calculator

• Tailored upfront and ongoing costs
• f a new hire

Workplace Policy Builder

• Policies tailored to your workplace

Where to now for RSE Scheme?

• What is the industry’s ambition for itself and its workforce?
• What is the value industry is creating for its customers in meeting

their expectations?

• What is the ‘licence to operate’ in the broader community?
• How is RSE integrated within broader industry workforce ambition,

customer value and ‘license to operate’?

• How does the industry demonstrate maturity in its approach to RSE

as part of that?

• How is the inherent vulnerability of RSE workers recognised and

protected and opportunistic behaviour eliminated?

• What is required for a fully mature and sustainable RSE model?
• What does ongoing industry stewardship of RSE look like?