House by house by house across Auckland they are exposing places scammers are holding their victims.

Investigations to date

INZ officials investigating Indian and Bangladeshi migrant exploitation had already found 115 workers living in appalling conditions. They all had accredited employer work visas (AEWV).

Just three weeks after finding the 115, INZ say investigators have identified another 29 victims.

That's a tally of 144 migrants. All were were living in crammed and unsanitary conditions, squeezed into 10 houses across Auckland.

The investigators say the places were unsuitable for accommodating such large numbers.

Visas paid, work promised

Many of the victims found by INZ had paid thousands of dollars for accredited employer work visas.

Some say they have had no pay or income since arriving here.

They have found little or no work available, despite being promised jobs with a handful of employers.

Those employers are now being investigated about the mistreatment claims.

INZ says it is working with the Indian High Commission in New Zealand and the Bangladeshi High Commission in Australia about the investigation.

Continuing investigations

INZ is now speaking to all the migrants and expects this will take some time. It says it's encouraging migrants to attend MSD's Jobs and Skills hubs.

So far, it has completed its review of 190 people still overseas who were issued the visas and are linked to the companies under investigation.

Of the 190 overseas visa holders, INZ reports that 135 have had their visas cancelled.

It also reports some of the remaining people have applied for a new visa. In some cases, visas have expired, INZ says. In addition, a few were cancelled at the border.

Tracing the vile swell

Besides the ongoing Indian and Bangladeshi investigation, INZ is currently investigating hundreds of migrant exploitation allegations against dozens of accredited employers. At present, 154 are being investigated for criminal offending.

In addition, INZ says 52 employers are being assessed to have their accreditation revoked. By mid-last month, six had already been revoked and five suspended.

INZ says it is also investigating 151 complaints about migrants working in breach of visa conditions.

Employment New Zealand is examining another 406 which relate to breaches of employment law and migrant exploitation.

Help offered

Various agencies have come forward to help the victims. They include Victim Support, the Ministry of Social Development, the Police and community representatives.

Source

• NZ Herald

The concern follows media exposure of numerous shameful examples of migrant workers coming to New Zealand and finding themselves without work, money or suitable accommodation.

On Monday, INZ said it had received 711 complaints against accredited employers, with 154 being investigated for criminal offending.

Of these, INZ said 52 employers are being assessed to have their accreditation revoked. By mid-last month, six had already been revoked and five suspended.

Steve Watson, INZ's general manager of immigration compliance and investigations, said 151 of those complaints have been referred to INZ's compliance department as they relate to migrants working in breach of visa conditions.

Employment New Zealand is examining another 406, as these were about breaches of employment law and migrant exploitation.

Migrants exploitation - the many ugly faces

Multiple investigations over migrant exploitation are underway.

It is just three weeks since 115 workers from India and Bangladesh on accredited employer work visas (AEWV) were found living in crammed and unsanitary conditions. They said they had had no income for months.

In May, the Herald reported hundreds of Nepalese may have paid up to $30,000 for visas to non-existent jobs.

Up to 250 migrants from South American countries paid large amounts for visas to come here on a false promise of residency-leading jobs.

There are ongoing concerns too, that not enough is being done to tackle worker exploitation in the alcohol industry.

Newshub's Nick Truebridge found 40 migrants "holed up" at a Papakura house without food.

He says the migrants were subjected to these conditions after trying to find a better life under the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme.

RNZ's Lucy Xia tells migrant exploitation stories too. She speaks of migrants allegedly exploited and left all but destitute after being told they were heading into decent jobs.

Immigration Minister Andrew Little says migrant exploitation has resulted in over 200 offshore migrants' visas being cancelled.

He says 10 migrants were stopped, turned around at the New Zealand border and their visas were cancelled.

INZ confirms the Minister's comments in this respect, but says he's mistaken about INZ cancelling the visas of 193 offshore migrants caught in a scam.

They haven't been cancelled.

"These individuals have border alerts so we can ensure they do not board a flight and come to New Zealand until such time as their employment has been verified," INZ national manager Peter Elms says.

He also confirmed INZ had not cancelled any accredited employer work visas of offshore migrants whose employers have had their accreditation revoked.

1News says INZ investigations are focusing on "five to six" accredited employers who had about 400 visas issued to them, and on their mistreatment of 115 Indian and Bangladeshi workers.

Source

• RNZ
• NZ Herald
• 1News
• NZ Herald
• CathNews NZ

One of the workers, Lyn Soapi, said the group were sad to be leaving without anything to show for their efforts but happy to be going home. Read more

Economist, Barbara Ward once suggested that we still have slaves, but these days we don't see them because they are on the other side of the world.

In a thought-provoking column Newsroom, Nikki Mandow wonders if perhaps the cheap tins of tomatoes in New Zealand's supermarkets are the result of slave labour.

She notes that Countdown has 32 different tinned tomato products on its (online) shelf.

Prices range from 70 cents to $2.55.

"Only 11 are locally-sourced - good ol' Watties' Hawkes Bay tomatoes, plain and flavoured. Maybe roast garlic and onion for spag bol?

Every other canned tomato - 21 different sorts - is Italian."

"Can you really bring a tin of tomatoes halfway around the world and sell it at a third of the price of a locally-sourced brand, and be sure no unsavoury human resources practices happened along the line?" Mandow asks.

In June, the Guardian published an article by Tobias Jones and Ayo Awokoya with the subtitle "How the Italian mafia makes millions by exploiting migrants."

In the Italian south, the lives of foreign agricultural labourers are so cheap that many NGOs have described their conditions as a modern form of slavery.

A few have work contracts, although union organisers often find they are fake.

Desperate for work, these labourers will accept any job in the fields even if the wages are far below, and the hours far above, union standards.

Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries.

She was an early advocate of sustainable development before this term became familiar and was well known as a journalist, lecturer and broadcaster.

She died in 1981.

Source

• newsroom.co.nz
• theguardian.com
• en.wikipedia.org
• Image: theguardian.com

Her sister, who is in Australia, has been charged in absentia with five counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of money laundering.

It's alleged that the women organised and facilitated travel and work arrangements for a number of Fijians to go to NZ where they were subsequently heavily exploited.

A Fiji Police spokesperson says the sisters operated a travel agency in Suva and allegedly placed a newspaper ad about employment opportunities in New Zealand.

Victims were promised visa or work permits and had money taken from them to supposedly pay for their visa applications.

Fiji Police says they suffered forced labour, unfavourable weather and living conditions and minimal or no wages.

The arrest of the women is linked to the Faroz Ali case which took place in 2016.

A thorough joint investigation involving both Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and Fijian authorities resulted in New Zealand's first successful prosecution for human trafficking.

Ali was found guilty of 15 human trafficking charges and other immigration offences.

He was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison at the High Court in Auckland.

INZ Assistant General Manager Peter Devoy says the joint investigation shows that allegations of people trafficking, migrant exploitation and immigration fraud will be vigorously pursued on and offshore with the cooperation of international authorities.

Fiji's employment minister Jone Usamate warned there are only two employment agencies in the country authorised to recruit locals for work overseas.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• newshub.co.nz
• sunlive.co.nz
• fijitimes.com
• Image: datainnovation.org

The priests allege some religious organisations are using RWC visas to bring migrants to New Zealand for ulterior motives.

The allegations are contained in an MBIE report, seen by Newsroom, which deals with the broader issue of the way the RWC is being used.

The report says there is a real possibility that some religious organisations are misusing the RWC to bring migrants to New Zealand.

According to the report, the priests told the Labour Inspectorate that workers were promised weekly wages of $600. However, after arriving in New Zealand, they were informed they would be paid at a lower rate - and would receive the money only at the end of their six-month tenure.

The priests also said the religious organisation which sponsored the workers' visas confiscated their passports and air tickets for a short period.

They were made to perform domestic duties instead of religious work.

Domestic duties like cooking and cleaning are permitted as "secondary roles" under the religious worker visa rules.

Furthermore, the priests alleged the organisation had been engaged in "this behaviour" for at least a decade.

The Labour Inspectorate was unable to pursue the case to prosecution - closing its investigation because an employment agreement could not be found.

Newsroom did not identify individual organisations as some may still be under investigation.

To be granted an initial work visa under the religious worker category, a person needs to have an offer of religious work from a religious organisation as well as their sponsorship.

If the offer of work and sponsorship continues, a person can apply for a second work visa, then after 3 years in New Zealand, for a resident visa.

Source

• newsroom.co.nz
• immigration.govt.nz
• Image: migrationguide.info