Introduction

Annually, thousands of people travel from our beautiful Pacific region to access work opportunities in New Zealand's Recognized Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE). The RSE provides employment opportunities for those in the Pacific Islands to assist with labour shortages in the horticulture and viticulture sectors, with an objective of potential economic development in the Pacific in return. This paper highlights experiences of groups of stranded ni‐Vanuatu workers in New Zealand due to border closures. The research was conducted with South Island employers and workers from my longitudinal study of the RSE (2007–2020) (Bailey 2019). It also includes ni‐Vanuatu workers from other regions in New Zealand.

From early on in the pandemic workers experienced much uncertainty and many challenges—stranded beyond the term of their visas, not being able to return to their families, and for some, relocating to new regions. They have experienced a lack of work opportunities, the introduction to new jobs and locations, systems of online shopping and banking, social separation from local communities and long‐term separation from their respective communities in Vanuatu. Some have suffered accusations on social media platforms of potentially carrying the virus from New Zealand back to Vanuatu, making them feel uneasy and unwelcomed. Comments on social media sites suggesting that repatriated workers should be sent to isolated islands to work out their quarantine time were not appreciated. Some workers felt that although they went to New Zealand to help their families and communities, they were becoming second‐class citizens because of the threat COVID‐19.

RSE workers' incomes from New Zealand have assisted families in the Pacific that suffered employment losses and natural disasters. Nonetheless, as will be discussed later, the dual impacts of Cyclone Harold and the COVID‐19 pandemic have called into question the costs of participating in short‐term labour migration.

This paper illustrates how New Zealand employers and communities have responded to the needs of RSE workers, taking into consideration changes made by the government to support these groups. The next section highlights how employers and workers have responded to new COVID‐19 restrictions and healthcare considerations. Following this is a brief account of the impact of workers' more extended separation periods. I then examine repatriation phases. All in all, it has been a long, exhausting, and stressful season for many ni‐Vanuatu RSE seasonal workers, employers, families and communities in both countries. The roller coaster of events of August 2020, where returning home was in sight, followed by the postponement of repatriation flights and the return of COVID‐19 community transmission on 11th August, have further exacerbated these tensions.

中文翻译：

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边境关闭：尼瓦努阿图认可的季节性雇主计划员工的经历

介绍

每年，成千上万的人从我们美丽的太平洋地区出发，获得新西兰公认的季节性雇主计划（RSE）的工作机会。RSE为太平洋岛屿地区的人们提供就业机会，以解决园艺和葡萄栽培部门的劳动力短缺问题，以期回报太平洋地区潜在的经济发展。本文重点介绍了由于边境关闭而在新西兰滞留的瓦努阿图工人的群体的经历。该研究是根据我对RSE（2007-2020年）的纵向研究（Bailey 2019年）对南岛的雇主和工人进行的。它还包括来自新西兰其他地区的瓦努阿图人。

从大流行开始，工人就经历了很多不确定性和许多挑战，这些挑战超出了签证期限，无法返回家人，有些人无法搬迁到新地区。他们经历了工作机会的缺乏，新工作和地点的介绍，在线购物和银行系统的建立，与当地社区的社会隔离以及与瓦努阿图各自社区的长期隔离。一些人在社交媒体平台上受到指控，可能将病毒从新西兰带回瓦努阿图，使他们感到不安和不受欢迎。在社交媒体网站上提出的建议将遣返的工人应送往偏僻的岛屿来确定其隔离时间的评论未得到赞赏。

来自新西兰的RSE工人的收入帮助了遭受就业损失和自然灾害的太平洋家庭。尽管如此，正如稍后将要讨论的那样，飓风哈罗德和COVID-19大流行的双重影响使人们质疑参加短期劳动力迁移的成本。

本文说明了新西兰雇主和社区如何响应RSE工人的需求，并考虑了政府为支持这些群体所做的更改。下一节将重点介绍雇主和工人如何应对新的COVID-19限制和医疗保健方面的考虑。在此之后，简要介绍了工人延长离职时间的影响。然后，我检查遣返阶段。总而言之，对于这两个国家的许多瓦努阿图RSE季节性工人，雇主，家庭和社区来说，这是一个漫长，疲惫而又压力重重的季节。2020年8月发生过山车事件，眼看要返回家园，随后推迟遣返飞行，并于8月11日返回COVID-19社区传播，这进一步加剧了这些紧张局势。