DILI, 18 February 2025 (TATOLI) – The New Zealand Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Helen Tunnah, met today with the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment, Rogério Araújo Mendonça, to discuss the possibility of establishing a labor mobility agreement between the two countries.
SEFOPE’s Director General, Carlito Rosário Cabral, said that during the meeting, both parties discussed SEFOPE’s preparation in relation to the establishment of the agreement.
“It was a technical discussion. So, we went through all the criteria that our workers will have to fulfill in order to be able to work in New Zealand,” Cabral said in Dili.
According to Ambassador Tunnah, the Timorese workers will be selected to work in New Zealand, primarily in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.
Tunnah said that it was too early to determine how many Timorese laborers would be recruited annually to work in New Zealand
Last year, the New Zealand government changed the policy of the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme and added Timor-Leste as a participating country.
Timor-Leste has always been a part of Australia’s PALM scheme (formerly the Short-term Seasonal Worker Program and Longer-term Pacific Labor Scheme), alongside the same Pacific countries that participate in the RSE scheme.
Between 2023-24, 17,599 workers arrived in New Zealand under the CSR scheme and the number is expected to increase in the next financial year.
Journalist: Jesuína Xavier
Editor: Isaura Lemos de Deus
Translator: Camilio de Sousa
