Christchurch massage business Mother’s Thai and owner Janya Duangjai fined $210k for exploiting workers

A Christchurch massage business and its owner have been ordered to pay $210,000 in penalties for the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers.

Mother’s Thai, which traded as Diamond Thai, and its sole director, Janya Duangjai, were found responsible for 55 separate breaches of minimum employment standards involving five workers between November 2020 and 2023.

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ordered Mother’s Thai to pay a penalty of $140,000 and Duangjai a further $70,000.

The five workers will receive $21,000 each from the penalties.

The penalties are in addition to the more than $230,000 that Mother’s Thai and Duangjai had previously agreed to pay five workers following a Labour Inspectorate investigation.

Mother’s Thai and Duangjai accepted they had, amongst other breaches:

• Failed to pay the minimum wage for all hours worked.
• Unlawfully deducted money from employees’ pay.
• Charged employees an unlawful premium for their employment.
• Failed to keep copies of employees’ employment agreements.
• Failed to pay the correct public holiday and sick leave entitlements.
• Failed to keep compliant wages and time records.

Natalie Gardiner, the Labour Inspectorate migrant exploitation manager, said the significant penalties imposed reflect the seriousness of the harm caused to the workers.

“This was a particularly egregious example of migrant exploitation,” Gardiner said.

“Employers who deliberately underpay staff, charge unlawful premiums or ignore basic employment obligations should expect strong enforcement action by labour inspectors.

“These types of practices have no place in New Zealand.”

In his determination, ERA member Peter van Keulen said the five workers had been denied $231,737 they were owed.

He said while Mother’s Thai conceded it breached employment standards and agreed to the amounts owed to the workers, there was no evidence the workers had been paid, and Mother’s Thai was no longer operating.

“It appears that employees of Mother’s Thai were migrant workers with limited knowledge about their employment rights and little support in terms of questioning their pay and other entitlements,” he said.

“It appears that Mother’s Thai, through Duangjai, took advantage of the employee’s vulnerability.”