Anne Lee
Tom and Suzie Mason’s trip to the Philippines to visit with some of their Filipino staff and their families has left them wanting to deepen the connections they made even further.
It’s also helped them fully appreciate what a huge culture shock it could be for new immigrant staff arriving on farm in the depths of winter. The climate, housing and amenities we take for granted such as running hot water can all be new experiences vastly different from home – and that’s before they even set foot in the farm dairy or set off down the farm track.
Just being sensitive to that could help settle someone in, ease their nerves and make them feel more confident and welcome.
Tom and Suzie’s two-week trip included a week in the south, in Mindanao province, where martial law prevails and checkpoints are frequent. While they were always guided and escorted by some of their staff and their family members, there were a few intrepid moments which also included a bit of a wild foods experience with preserved “unhatched” ducklings.
‘It’s not something you’d just tell your staff you’re going to do. It’s a big deal for them and I think you have to have a strong relationship with them where they feel comfortable and have a good level of trust.’
“We didn’t see any other Europeans for that whole week and I get the feeling quite a lot of the Filipino people we met hadn’t come across any Europeans for a long time or even ever.
“Some of the checkpoint guards clearly got a surprise when the van window was wound down and Suzie was sitting there in the front seat,” Tom laughs.
The trip was much more than a holiday and was two years in the making with the couple’s longer-term staff and their families back home in the Philippines organising visits with family, local agricultural businesses and the university where several of them have studied.
Tom is a Nuffield scholar and the couple love a trip where there’s learning involved.
“It’s not something you’d just tell your staff you’re going to do. It’s a big deal for them and I think you have to have a strong relationship with them where they feel comfortable and have a good level of trust,” he says.
They say the experience gave them a much greater insight into some of the key team members of their multi-farm operation.
“We’ve got a better idea of what makes them tick – what’s important to them,” Tom says.
“It gave us a better sense of connection I think,” Suzie adds.
The Canterbury couple are part of Terracostosa Ltd which owns four dairy farms and a support block where young stock are reared.
It milks more than 3500 cows and employs about 25 people.
Filipino staff have long been an integral part of the operation with several now long-term team members holding senior positions.
A number have become residents and some citizens, although Tom says the immigration rules are a nightmare for both employers and employees.
The need for an annual renewal of working visas and requirement for visa holders to leave the country after three years for a 12-month stand-down creates anxiety for all and is detrimental to productivity.
Rules that mean families are unable to join migrant staff here are downright cruel and have far-reaching effects on wider rural communities, he says.
Michael Bosto and his wife Grizel are now New Zealand residents and have worked for the Masons for close to eight years.
Michael holds the most senior position within the farming teams as the farm manager on Kyle Park, a 394 hectare, self-contained, 1200-cow farm near Dorie.
His brother Jessie is a herd manager on the 800-cow, nearby Terracostosa farm and his wife Maria and Grizel are sisters.
Jessie and Maria’s visa status means they must renew every year. They’ve been with the company for four years but at the end of their next three-year period will have to return home under the current rules.
They all come from Wao in Mindanao province and Michael says it was extremely special to have Tom and Suzie visit their families.
“To have our bosses coming to our homes was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event. Not many foreigners come to the south so we were very proud to have them come.
“It helped them (their own families) understand a little bit more about what we do here in New Zealand. They know we work on dairy farms but they look at my hands and they don’t look like the hands of a labourer.
“They don’t realise it’s your head not your hands that gets all the use,” he laughs.
Suzie says they saw first-hand just what a difference the money staff send home makes to their wider family’s lives and how it enabled much better living conditions, from allowing wooden houses to be plastered right through to new homes.
In some areas the standard wage driving trucks or planting and harvesting crops is about $10/day.
The couple were reunited with Jonathan Flores, a former staff member who returned to the Philippines after treatment for an illness that would have prevented him passing the medical for visa renewal. Suzie, a former nurse, made sure he got all the help and treatment he required before going home.
Both Jonathan’s nephew Vincent Flores and cousin Arlyn Cupas work for the Canterbury farming business, both as herd managers.
They all come from an area near Valencia City in Mindanao province and it was Jonathan’s sister, Evangeline Valle, a vet, who organised many of their visits.
That included calling into one of 12 regional Department of Agriculture Carabao – milking buffalo – Centres.
The centre was near Central Mindanao University.
A number of their staff have worked at the centre and several have graduated with degrees from the University.
Tom says it was a highlight to meet the president of Central Mindanao University Dr Jesus Antonio G. Derije and get a glimpse at the quality education it provides. He’s keen to facilitate a closer relationship between the university there and Lincoln University and find ways their farming business could support students wanting to come to NZ for study and work.
“There have to be opportunities to do something really tangible – you do get a strong sense of wanting to do something to help out once you’ve been there,” Tom says.
It’s also likely to benefit NZ farmers too by improving the understanding of our farming systems and getting closer, more direct ties.
Suzie says one of the big takeaways from the trip was just how much the Filipino people value education and how hospitable they are.
Some of the extended family they met were very shy so it was a humbling experience to be welcomed to their homes.
The second week of their trip was spent in the north where they were able to meet with Amephil and Maila Pascua’s family.
Amephil manages the grazing block at Greenpark, near Lincoln and is responsible for 1700 young stock.
He and Maila come from the Luzon area, north of Manilla and have built a house there.
Amephil says it was a proud moment to have Tom and Suzie meet their families and visit their homes. They travelled with them, driving them up to Luzon, showing them the sights and sharing their local knowledge.
“We’d definitely like to go back – but we’d go back next time with the purpose of setting up something solid so we could make a direct difference,” Tom says.
