NZ OPPOSITION:GOVT CHANGES TO RSE SCHEME WILL EXPLOIT WORKERS.

WELLINGTON, June 8 Asia Pulse - The opposition Labour Party in New Zealand says removing the minimum wage protection for workers on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme will lead to exploitation of Pacific Islands seasonal workers, reports Radio New Zealand International.

Labour spokesperson Darien Fenton said the Government was allowing employers in the RSE scheme to make deductions that would reduce pay rates below the minimum wage of NZ$12.50 (US$7.82) an hour.

Ms Fenton said at a time of increasing unemployment the last thing the region needed was employers able to import cheap labour.

She said it exploited the Pacific workers and undermined the minimum wage protection for New Zealand workers.

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) said there had been significant examples of unauthorised and unfair deductions from RSE workers' pay even under the existing regulations.

It said relaxing the minimum wage rule would only result in more blatant exploitation of already vulnerable workers as unscrupulous employers shifted costs onto them.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Government has refuted claims by the opposition that the changes made to the RSE scheme would lead to exploitation seasonal ...