Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove said this week measures being introduced by the Government such as pastoral care, pre-departure orientation information and disclosure of all payments being made by workers were some of the changes introduced to improve the position of seasonal workers.
Seasonal Solutions, which was set up to address staff shortages in Central Otago, was already doing everything it could to ensure workers were getting the best deal and being well looked after, he said.
"Some employers just ring an agent in a Pacific country and say send me 10 men, but that's not how we work," he said.
Seasonal Solutions had prepared a booklet in English and Bislama, the main language spoken in Vanuatu, and Mr Goodman will fly to Vanuatu next week to hold three pre-training sessions for the 450 workers coming to the South Island in the coming season.
"They will be told all the things we need of them and all the expectations of what they need to do when they get here," Mr Goodman said.
The first group would arrive on a chartered jet on October 25, with 50 workers going to Marlborough and 100 to Central Otago, where some would work as apricot thinners and others in vineyards.
Despite Mr Cosgrove's claims that for the first time in many years there would be no concerns about labour shortages during the busy apple harvests in Nelson and Hawkes Bay, Mr Goodman is not so sure about Otago.
"I still have concerns. Our RSE (recognised seasonal employer) workers will make up about 5% of the workforce and Kiwis will bring that up to 30%-35%.
"I don't know where the remaining 60% will come from. They just seem to arrive out of the blue and we have to hope that will happen again this year," he said.
