Photo: Wakatū IncorporationMore than 1000 seasonal workers from Vanuatu stranded in New Zealand will finally return home this week, with the first flight having departed Christchurch this morning just after 7am. The repatriation flights are a joint effort between the New Zealand and Vanuatu governments, as well as industry groups Summerfruit NZ, Horticulture NZ. He told Morning Report many workers were going back to villages struck by Cyclone Harold. In a few months, the regions would suffer from a shortage of experienced workers, he said. "When our summer work ran out, we had to re-train them into winter jobs on the vineyard such as pruning," he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 19, 2020 01:41 UTC