Pioneering programme a win-win for New Zealand employers

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

One World Resourcing’s Declan Clancy says his company’s exclusive, new health and safety training partnership with Site Safe for Filipino workers about to start work on construction sites in New Zealand is a win-win for employers and workers.

One World Resourcing is an international human resources services company with operations in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines. Under its new arrangement with Site Safe, workers in the Philippines are being trained and issued with building and civil construction passports before they arrive in New Zealand. Already 60 workers have been accredited.

One World Resourcing’s Christchurch-based chief executive, Declan Clancy, 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.”

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,” Declan Clancy 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.

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.

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