NEW ZEALAND – Regional trade unions have raised concerns about the lack of representation of workers at the inaugural Pacific labour meeting which is taking place this week in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Pacific islands workers have been described as invaluable to New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries.

The meeting on Pacific labour mobility is taking take place ahead of ministerial meetings of Pacer Plus trade negotiations later in the week.

Both the New Zealand and Australian Council of Trade Unions as well as the South Pacific Council of Trade Unions voiced their concerns at not being allowed to participate in the labour mobility meeting.

NZCTU secretary Sam Huggard said it was not possible to achieve a good outcome for Pacific workers without the voices of those workers at the table.

Huggard said New Zealand unions had supported the seasonal workers scheme since it began in the mid-2000s – on certain conditions.

He said this included that Pacific workers would be well treated and not underpaid and that there would be an industry wide approach to improving conditions in the sector.

“We have felt a little bit let down by some of the employers in those industries. And so we want a focus to make sure that workers are really aware of their rights and getting good information – both pre-departure from their home country and also the ability to get organised and be supported in New Zealand to make sure they are getting paid properly for what they do and that it is a genuinely developmental opportunity.”

As to the content of the meeting, Sam Huggard said the limited information available suggested it was being called because some countries were reluctant to have binding labour commitments included in the proposed Pacer Plus trade deal.

He said ironically the NZCTU would support this position as it felt people were not commodities and should not be part of any trade arrangements. He said the NZCTU was pushing for strong bilateral arrangements with a focus on better conditions for Pacific workers including opportunities for development and training.

Meanwhile, Oxfam New Zealand is supporting the call for “no decision” to be made on the Pacific’s proposed Pacer Plus trade as the region’s trade ministers to meet in Christchurch this week to further discuss the agreement.

Negotiations started in 2009 and are on track to wrap up later this year.

A report from the Pacific Network on Globalisation has warned that Pacer Plus poses significant threats to island nations’ governments.

It said this included threats to their right to regulate, the right to food, significant negative health impacts and disproportionate impacts on women.

Oxfam said it supported the report’s recommendation that there be “no decision” on Pacer Plus until there is an independent assessment of the deal to allow Pacific people to make an informed decision about exactly what the agreement would mean for them.

The executive director of Oxfam New Zealand, Rachael Le Mesurier, said Pacific economies faced unique challenges and any regional trade policy must bear that in mind.

She said a social impact assessment was needed to see how relevant Pacer Plus is for small businesses and for the communities and villages in some of the more remote areas of the Pacific.

“Because the truth is actually it is not necessarily in their interest to have foreign nationals and foreign companies investing in and bringing new products into their communities. That can possible undermine those small businesses which are so integral to the way that the village economies work’” she said.

- RNZI/PNC