A few of Tonga's seasonal workers in New Zealand had been sent home because of attitude and behaviour problems, Tonga's Minister of Labour, Commerce and Small Industries, Hon. Lisiate 'Akolo said today.

"Sending poor quality workers abroad is the same as sending poor produce. The employers know where they come from and we will be penalised and there is no escaping this fact," he said, calling on workers to be fully committed to their work, so that others would have the same opportunity in the future.

He recognised that Tonga had sent some unsuitable people to New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Workers Scheme (RSE).

The Minister who recently returned from a week-long tour of New Zealand RSE worksites observed that some Tongan workers had attitude problems that were affecting their work.

"There is a problem with the working attitudes of some of the workers, which causes great concern for us because from feedback some are questioning the farmers or the employers, some consume alcohol while others fail to turn up to work, a clear indication that these people should not have been selected to go," emphasised the Minister.

He said that since the RSE scheme began on July 20 last year, 539 Tongan Seasonal Workers had been sent and so far 19 people had returned home before their time because of similar problems.

"It is not good for Tonga because we need to address this urgently so we do not loose this opportunity."

He added although feedback showed that while there are many good Tongan workers "there is still great concern because there seems to be a trend of similar attitude problems amongst our workers in various farms."

Selection process

The Minister said he would be calling meetings with the District and Town Officers and the Village Selection Committees to look at how they can ensure they recommend the suitable people for the job.

He said he had emphasised to the workers who were identified with bad working attitudes, that they will be returned home if they fail get their act together, and their behaviour jeopardises this opportunity for the rest.

At present the village committees are responsible for recommending people they consider suitable for the New Zealand employers to choose from. The successful workers undergo training.

He said the involvement of town officers and village committees in the selection was intended to bring best knowledge on who is best for the job.

"But if this selection process continues to fail, then we will review it and look at adopting a new process."

Poor quality workers

The Minister said that Government is providing financial assistance to conduct further training for workers and they are also looking at conducting training in New Zealand when workers get there.

He said three Tongans had been appointed to overlook workers in the three main worksites of Hawkes Bay, the Northern Auckland area and in Nelson and New Plymouth.

The Ministry of Labour is also planning to set up a special unit under the Labour Division headed by Deputy Secretary Sione Maumau to focus entirely on the RSE scheme.

He said although town officers and village committees are tasked with the recommendations, they can't always be held accountable in all cases because some individuals get through knowing they cannot do the job with some presenting suitable attitudes but act differently when they get there.

"Employers need to have faith and to trust our system to deliver because this has a significant impact on their choice of the source country for workers.

"I think some of our workers have great expectations in comparison to what is the actual reality, that is the work is very tough and one has to committed," he said.

Tonga is looking at sending 551 seasonal workers before the end of June.