Workers Unions say they are receiving more complaints about exploitation of migrant workers in New Zealand and that unscrupulous employers are taking more care to ensure little evidence of the rort is left.
Migrant Worker’s union’s Anu Kaloti told that the number of complaints the union was getting has increased in the last six months to one year when they were getting one complaint a fortnight.
“Definitely, two, three people are contacting us every week,” she said.
She said the visa rort was so rampant that employers already under investigation by authorities were continuing to sell jobs for thousands of dollars and making sure not to leave much evidence behind.
She said the money would be received through several different accounts each time a worker pays them using accounts of a “friend of a friend”.
“They're making it very intricate and sophisticated so it can't be tracked or traced,” Ms Kolati said.
Mandeep Singh Bela of the Indian Workers’ Association said the employers were able to exploit migrants as many visas were tied to a particular employer as the workers would lose their job and the visa if they complained against their employer’s malpractices.
The Labour Inspectorate- the authority that investigates cases of labour exploitation says over half the investigations completed each year involve migrant workers.
"Migrant exploitation is a priority for the Labour Inspectorate, and where we find premiums have been paid we will ensure they go back to the employee, and we will seek penalties against the employer," agency’s national manager Stu Lumsden said.
New Zealand authorities have banned 160 employers who cannon sponsor overseas workers on work visas due to a breach of standards.
