The number of Fijians working under the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer Work Scheme has been growing annually with total number expected to increase to 60 this year from the initial 12 in 2015.

Two employer representatives of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, Heather Burton and Penny Gibson met with Employment Ministry Permanent Secretary Osea Cawaru in a meeting to recruit more seasonal workers.

Burton is the General Manager Human Resource for EastPack Limited, one of the first employers to pilot the seasonal work program and has been recruiting seasonal workers from Fiji since 2015.

The total number of workers recruited by East Pack Ltd has been increasing over the years from the initial 12 workers in 2015 and rose to 56 workers in 2018.

The Ministry fo Employment says that this number will increase again to 60 workers comprising of 17 new workers and 43 returning workers for 2019.

The 60 workers are from the Provinces of Ra, Rewa, Tailevu, Ba, Lomaiviti, Kadavu, Serua and Namosi.

Cawaru says that the 43 returning workers were again selected by the employer this year due to their excellent work performance and attitude.