Seasonal workers employed in New Zealand and Australia send more than half of their earnings home when they finish their contracted terms.
This is disclosed in a report from the International Labour Organisation looking at the schemes based on human rights and labour standards highlighting the social and economic impacts to Pacific Islanders.
The report says the main economic benefits are the earnings by the workers part of which are sent to families back home.
The report was based on face-to-face interviews with seasonal worker from Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa and Vanuatu.
The temporary workers send the majority of their earnings home and “left small amounts of money in Australia and New Zealand”.
In Samoa, most of the money earned from the schemes are used to build new homes and buy cars used by the families of the workers.
The report said other economic benefits include workers learning new skills either through on the job training or taking part in training programmes.
The report warned that economic benefits of the two schemes were not always equally spread and may cause an increase in social inequality.
