Business owner made migrant employees work long hours while underpaying them
A business owner with several Auckland- and Hamilton-based businesses has been sentenced to 11 months of home detention for charges relating to migrant exploitation.
The business owner knowingly employed and aided a person to remain unlawfully in New Zealand, as well as underpaid her workers thousands of dollars, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, citing an investigation from Immigration New Zealand.
The investigation, which lasted for five years, further found that the business owner intentionally mistreated and misled her employees, as well as provided misleading information to Immigration NZ to progress a visa application.
She also made her employees work long hours without paying them or at a rate less than the minimum wage for the hours they worked.
Overall, she had failed to pay approximately $41,000 under the Minimum Wage Act 1983 and approximately $9,000 for entitlements under the Holidays Act 2003 to three employees over an eight-month period in 2018.
"While failing to pay her workers according to their statutory minimum entitlements, [the business owner] chose to purchase and open a further two businesses," said Jason Perry, MBIE National Manager Immigration Investigations.
Charges of exploitation
The business owner faced six charges of exploitation of unlawful or temporary employees, two charges of aiding and abetting, and one charge of provision of false or misleading information.
She pleaded guilty to all the charges in May 2024, and was also ordered to pay $49,858.96 in reparation to the victims.
"Employers and individuals who think they can take advantage of unlawful or temporary workers for their own financial gain should know this will not be tolerated – they will be investigated and held to account," Perry said.
"It is important that employers understand and comply with their responsibilities and obligations to their employees under the Immigration Act 2009 and pay all employees according to New Zealand employment law."
Addressing migrant exploitation
The New Zealand government has been taking steps to stamp out migrant exploitation in the country.
It introduced a new proposal in September aimed at increasing the maximum penalties for migrant exploitation from seven to 10 years of imprisonment.
"Migrant exploitation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This change recognises the seriousness of this crime and builds on a suite of changes made by this Government to reduce the opportunity for exploitation and stamp it out when it occurs," Immigration Minister Erica Stanford previously said.
But the Union Network of Migrants (UNEMIG) in New Zealand said that the country's immigration system has "created a profound power imbalance" that traps workers in "silence and fear."
"This is not just a migrant issue," said Mandeep Bela, president of UNEMIG, in a statement ahead of International Migrants Day on December 18.
"Exploitative conditions undercut wages and standards for all workers. We are here to demand a system that works for everyone - one that values people over profit and dignity over disposability."
According to the migrant advocacy group, the government should decouple work visas from single employers and scrap the 12-month stand-down period.
"International Migrants Day must move us from recognition to action," Bela said. "We have an opportunity to build an immigration system rooted in fairness and respect. By ending these punitive policies, we can ensure New Zealand truly values the people who contribute their labour, their talents, and their lives to our country."
