Strawberry Picking Jobs

Kiwifruit picking seasons will start in mid-March of every year.

Kiwifruit picking, as an industry standard, is paid per full bin (piece rate), instead of the regular hourly rate. This means the faster you and your team fill up kiwifruit bins, the more will be your take home pay over that day. 

For this reason, it is quite hard to tell exactly how much someone can make on an hourly basis. As a reference, our faster teams are able to make around $36.70 per hour, while our average teams make around $28.60/h before taxes (including 8% holiday pay).

However, we comply with New Zealand’s legislation. If, for some reason, you don’t reach the threshold to make more money, we will pay you $22.75 per hour + 8% holiday pay.

When you get to the orchard, our coordinators will assign you to a team of around 10 people. Your team will then start picking and filling the same bin. Once a bin is full, your team will ‘split’ the bin’s ‘profit’ and start filling the next one. That’s why team work is very important, the faster your team fills the bins, the more you will make. As a reference, our slowest teams are able to fill 7-8 bins per hour, while our fastest teams are able to fill around 17 bins per hour.

Starting and finishing hours may vary due to weather or other factors. A regular kiwifruit picking day starts at 7.30-8am and goes until 5-5.30pm. There are some occasions when we can work during the night, but these will be communicated and will be optional for those who are keen to work extra hours.

Unfortunately the Kiwifruit tree is very sensitive. During rainy days, if we do any maintenance work on the plant, there is a high-risk of the plant getting a disease that will eventually kill it, compromising next year’s crop. For this reason, we never work on rainy days.

Your contract will be on a casual basis. What makes it very flexible for both of us. That means when there is work available, we will contact you. At that stage you can tell us if you will be attending to work on that day, and/or for how long you will work. You can find more information about casual employment contracts at this link: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/who-is-an-employee/types-of-employee/#scrollto-casual-employees

You don’t necessarily have to, but since the payment is per full bin and you will have a bag that can weight up to 20kg strapped to your torso, we believe being fit will help you throughout the day.

Yes! That’s what makes kiwifruit picking fun! You can all come together, be part of the same team and who knows, even run a challenge between you to see who picks faster!

We have work throughout the Bay of Plenty region, but the orchards are mainly located in Katikati, Te Puke, Te Puna, Waihi, Maketu and Paengaroa. The locations can vary from day to day. As soon as our clients tell us where we’ll be working, we’ll let you know. This usually happens the night before work, or at latest very early in the morning.

We can organize vans or car pooling if you don’t have personal transport. Conditions apply, depending on where you are located.

No, but we have a few partners who can provide accommodation for you. Please visit https://garciacontracting.co.nz/accommodations/ to find more details.

Orchards are often quite far from the towns, so we recommend you bring enough food and at least 1-2 liters of water to drink during the day. You can wear any clothes, but we recommend you wear comfortable and light clothes. The job is physically demanding, so you will get sweaty during the day. Covered shoes is a must, to avoid any Health & Safety issues. We also recommend you bring Sunscreen.

No. Kiwifruit picking work is not eligible to provide you with a work visa, according to New Zealand Immigration. Be aware if any contractor promises you a work visa, and always seek immigration advice or call Immigration New Zealand if you have any questions. Garcia is an SSE certificated company. Therefore, SSE visas are the only type we are able to assist you with.

Yes, we can provide you the necessary documentation on this case.

Of course! The Kiwifruit industry is a very democratic, there is space for everyone, and kiwis are more than welcome to join us.

Yes, unfortunately it is well known that some kiwifruit contractors may not be compliant with New Zealand legislation, and can even get away without giving employees what is their rights. You can rest assured Garcia Contracting complies with all industry standards and New Zealand legislation. We believe in respecting our worker’s rights and providing a great work environment for them.