Pioneering programme a win-win for New Zealand employers

Pioneering programme a win-win for New Zealand employers and Filipino workers

Coinciding with World Day for Health and Safety at Work, Site Safe and international recruitment company, One World Resourcing, are announcing an exclusive, new health and safety training programme in the Philippines for workers about to start work on construction sites in New Zealand.

Site Safe, a national not-for-profit organisation, is dedicated to promoting a culture of health and safety in work, to prevent deaths and injuries in New Zealand's construction and related industries. Under the new arrangement, Site Safe will train and issue building and civil construction passports to workers in the Philippines before they arrive in New Zealand. The first round of courses, held near Manila, has just finished with 60 workers being accredited. A second round of courses is already scheduled for June.

Site Safe’s Chief Executive, Alison Molloy, says: “This new service allows Filipino workers to be work- ready on arrival to New Zealand. This is a significant advancement on the current situation, where workers arriving here often have to wait up to three weeks before doing their Site Safe course for building and civil construction passports. Our members and employers in general have welcomed this new initiative with One World Resourcing.”

One World Resourcing’s Christchurch-based director, Louise Daly, says the new arrangement is a win-win for employers and workers from the Philippines.

“This will be very attractive to employers, who have been frustrated by delays between their international workers arriving here and actually starting work. It will be of great benefit to workers too, as they will be able to start earning as soon as they get here.”

Phil Brosnan, of Brosnan Construction, who travelled to the Philippines with One World Resourcing to observe the first round of courses, says he “highly recommends” the new service.

“It’s a fantastic initiative that not only saves a lot of time and money for employers like myself but also makes a lot of sense for Filipino workers coming here. My company will certainly be availing of this service going forward and I would highly recommend others to do so.”

One World Resourcing is an international human resources services company with operations in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines. Its exclusive arrangement with Site Safe is one component of its new Ethical Resourcing Model, which it is pioneering in New Zealand.

“In recent months, there has been a lot of attention paid to the experiences of Filipino workers in New Zealand. Our new Ethical Resourcing Model represents a much needed change in the approach to recruiting people from overseas - creating an ethical working and living environment for foreign workers,” Louise Daly says.

One World Resourcing’s exclusive Ethical Resourcing Model seeks to protect Filipino workers from exploitation by:

• Providing an open and transparent recruitment process for all stakeholders.

• Ensuring they are ready to start earning as soon as they arrive in New Zealand by having them Site Safe accredited before leaving the Philippines.

• Removing their reliance on loan sharks in the Philippines (with extortionate rates of between 70% and 200% per annum) through a partnership with ANZ. This will allow Filipino workers brought to New Zealand by One World Resourcing to open a New Zealand bank account and to start a credit history here.

• Ensuring the workers arriving here are met in a culturally sensitive manner through a unique partnership and support structure with the Christchurch Migrants Centre.

• Working with accommodation providers to prevent tenant exploitation.

ENDS

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