Immigration lawyer Harris Gu says the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme is a breeding ground for employment exploitation.
Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Immigration lawyer Harris Gu says the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme is a breeding ground for employment exploitation.
Photo / Sylvie Whinray
An employment visa scheme created to combat migrant exploitation is instead turning into a breeding ground for employment exploitation, an immigration lawyer says.
Under the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme, accredited employers are exempt from paying the median wage and some are asking existing staff to take a paycut to match the lower salaries of foreign labour they now have access to.
Immigration lawyer Harris Gu said he was aware of employers who were considering laying off staff unless they agreed to the wage reduction.
“The policy is a breeding ground for employment exploitation,” Gu said.
Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association. Photo / Supplied
An Auckland restaurant worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and that her employer wasn’t approached, said she was currently on $28.50 an hour but had been asked to sign a new contract for $24.
The minimum wage in New Zealand is $21.20, but the median wage under the immigration system is currently $27.76 an hour.
Under the new accredited employer scheme, employers in some sectors, including hospitality, tourism, construction and the care workforce, can pay staff below the median wage.
Gu, a solicitor at Queen City Law, said employers were usually well aware of their obligations under employment law but were still willing to take the risk in cutting wages of existing staff.
“The rationale is that they believe only a small portion of migrant workers would complain against them and that it is economically viable,” he said.
“Under the accreditation scheme, replacement for these staff are also easily found.
“No doubt if it wasn’t for the current AEWV policy, such opportunities for exploitation would not have occurred.”
The Accredited Employer Work Visa was created to reduce reliance on low skilled migrant workers. Photo / 123RF
Gu believed the policy was well intended but wasn’t well planned and poorly executed.
Nicola Hogg, INZ’s general manager border and visa operations, said the scheme was created to reduce NZ’s reliance on low skilled migrant workers and make sure Kiwis were first in line for jobs.
“The AEWV also helps combat migrant exploitation by ensuring only employers who are accredited can hire migrant workers,” Hogg said.
“Under the scheme, employers are required to pay migrants market rate, which is the rate that would be paid to a New Zealander with the required skills to do the job. Employers should not be paying more, or less, than similarly skilled New Zealanders in the same role.”
To be accredited, an employer must show their business is viable, meets immigration employment standards and ensure they will not exploit migrants they hire. Their accreditation may be removed if they are found to mislead INZ or fail to meet their obligations.
Immigration lawyer from Queen City Law Harris Gu. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Hogg said INZ had not received any official complaint regarding the current immigration instructions, other than a single complaint regarding website issues for the scheme.
“If an individual believes their employer is exploiting workers or has concerns with their employment practices, this can be reported to inz.complianceinvestigations@mbie.govt.nz,” she said.
Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said many restaurants were still experiencing “extreme skills shortage” and were desperate for staff.
“Asking your employees to reduce their salary because others are being paid less is not an appropriate action for an employer to take,” Bidois said.
“If there are issues with the business not being financially viable, there are correct processes a business needs to take.”
She said the allowance for businesses in hospitality to pay under the median wage was an acknowledgement of the extremely challenging time the restaurant industry has had in dealing with the pandemic.
“I have not heard any feedback about this happening in other businesses. As far as the scheme overall, there have been some issues with the application process and long wait times... this has been raised with INZ and we have seen some improvements,” Bidois said.
A recent survey by the association found 80 per cent of businesses were understaffed and 77 per cent said they were finding it extremely difficult to find staff.
