The exploitation of migrant workers has been in the news over the past week and TV1 has done a good job exposing what I believe is just the tip of the iceberg.
This is a problem not just confined a few migrant owned restaurants. In the last week, I’ve had contacts from people in the home-care industry, the agricultural industry, the construction industry, the tourism industry and people in trades. While some have been migrants, I’ve heard a lot from other workers and businesses who are saying they simply can’t compete where this kind of blatant law breaking is happening.
It’s not only about paying below minimum wage either. Burger King, the multinational owned business is being taken to the Employment Authority by Unite Union for alleged union busting and discrimination against migrant workers. There’s a litany of stories like this in the migrant community.
The Minister of Labour has ordered a crackdown. That’s good, but it will take an army of Labour Inspectors that our Department of Labour resources won’t run to, especially as they are currently embroiled in the creation of Steven Joyce’s mega ministry monster, MoBIE. Someone today told me that they have waited seven months to hear back about a case of clear minimum wage breach for a group of migrant workers who were brave enough to seek help.
No-one knows how deep this morass is. I think stamping this out is going to take some effort from of all of us. We have to expose the poor treatment of migrants and we have to demand action.
I will be.
There was an offer of employment for $x.xx per hour. There was acceptance of this offer. Something is very wrong, and I don’t think another recruitment drive by Darien is going to fix things.
We have to many migrant workers coming into this country, many with dodgy qualifications and substandard work skills and practices.
I would be interested to know what Asian tradesmen are being paid in the property renovation business in Auckland and are the owners declaring the profits on the resale of the properties?
If migrant employers are caught underpaying staff they should not be allowed to own a business until they learn NZ laws and know them off by heart.
Quantify it frank_db or quit your xenophobic clap-trap.
“I believe is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“No-one knows how deep this morass is.”
Shades of bene on the roof, casting aspersions on all migrants and all businesses?
@PeteG Im sticking up for the right of migrant workers to be treated fairly and according to NZ laws and for businesses not to have to compete with those who dont. Why aren’t you?
‘Why aren’t you?’. PeteG never said he wasn’t, and he has a valid point that the language you have used contains quite a lot of hyperbole (I think as a result of not actually having a clue how deep the morass is, but it needed to sound scary or big to fit the rhetoric).
FiFi- why couldn’t it be all business owners not just migrants? Just because someone is from NZ doesn’t mean they know squat about NZ Employment Law (let alone fair trading/consumer guarantees/commerce act).
Pete G. fancy seeing you here. ‘D you get banned from The Standard or something?
Have migrant workers actually complained in fdroves? Or is it a short term thing where migrants who may be employed by other migrants move quickly into better positions or running their own businesses?
@Rob S:
Exactly how was that hyperbole?
@Pete G said:
Shades of Pete G trying to inappropriately shoehorn in an anti-Labour meme that has been getting some mileage on the Standard, yet has little or no relevance to this post.
Tim G. – I haven’t seen this get any mileage at TS. It is relevant to the man on the roof, a story without details that casts aspersions on all sickness beneficiaries.
Darien – I’ll stick up for migrant workers who are being unfairly treated in employment. I’ll stick up for any worker who is being unfairly treated in employment.
And I’ll also stick up for the many businesses who treat workers fairly. Many business owners provide many jobs that pay reasonably. And if they are forced to pay more it would stress the business, and it also often stresses the health and families of the business owners. And it will stress the workers who find they have no jobs because small business owners can’t be bothered taking all the risks any more.
By all means stick up for wrong doing, but don’t guess the degree of the problem. If you can show (more than guessing) that it’s a significznt problem I may help campaign against it. But I won’t if it’s just another political exageration.
@Pete G : I’m sorry but your comment was an irrelevant political shot and you know it. There has been evidence; it’s been on the TV screens every night this last week and it’s been in my in-box, it’s been in the stories at the Diversity Forum I’ve just spent two days at, it’s in answers to questions to the Minister at Estimates, who admitted the problem is growing, it’s in answers to written questions – I could go on. I can assure you I will continue to ask the questions, but it’s the government’s job to tell us how big (or not) the problem is and they are simply unable to – because they don’t know either. I’m pleased you will stick up for workers who are being treated unfairly at work; Just so you know, I always defend good employers and businesses. We need them. That was one point in my post – much of the contact I’ve had has been from small business who are concerned that they can’t compete with employers who break the law. They were supporting the comments I have made in the media and asking me to keep at it.
“Just so you know, I always defend good employers and businesses. We need them. That was one point in my post – much of the contact I’ve had has been from small business who are concerned that they can’t compete with employers who break the law. They were supporting the comments I have made in the media and asking me to keep at it.”
Good to hear this. Maybe I was being too cynical and negative from seeing too much “workers good, employers bad” on blogs. And media tends to miss much of the positive.
I’ll see what I can do to help.
@Pete George : Thank you. Appreciate it.
On business and humble pie:
http://yournz.org/2012/08/21/supporting-darien-fenton-supporting-business/
This sort of thing has been going on for at least twenty years.
Back in the early nineties people were complaining about being undercut by both foreign illegals and local beneficiaries working under the table. National did nothing about it then and neither did Labour when they got into power. Why would anybody believe that Labour will do anything about the problem should they ever get into power again?
Asian tradesmen can do trades work in Auckland here at alot less than skilled Kiwi’s however the quality of the workmanship is sometimes questionable, however saying that I have employed some very good Asian tradesmen.
There is an old saying uou get what you pay for.