Culture Watch Project(Public Version)
“Forced & Bonded Migrant LabourGripping New Zealand”
Peter MihaereCohort 32 “The Nehemiah Project”
MP519 – Missional Engagement with Contemporary Culture
Preamble before reading:
This Culture Watch Project is designed to help the student prepare for their Final Case Study paper for thiscourse by allowing them to do the initial culture-based research for the first part of their final paper. The student’s task is to practice listening to and representing popular culture and opinion about the topic you have selected for your final paper.
By studying how the secular media and pop culture are treating the theme through newspaper or magazine articles, TV newscasts, podcasts, social networking, You Tube videos, popular blogs, etc., select and gather at least five secular sources to explore and summarize.
Once you selected at least five sources, summarize each of those sources (providing approximately a one-page, double-spaced summary for each source). Include what thesource says about your topic, the "angle" they take, the main points they make in their proposals for resolving the issue you selected to write about. Then you will
briefly suggest how the Church might respond appropriately and with relevance to what you are finding.
Accordingly this paper has been limited in what it can present. The reader needs to bear that in mind.
Peter J MihaereNovember 2014.
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Table of ContentsTable of Contents.......................................2Introduction............................................3Article 1...............................................4Article 2...............................................5Article 3...............................................6Article 4...............................................7Article 5...............................................8Conclusion: The Churches Missional Response.............9Apendicies.............................................12Appendix 1................................................12Appendix 2................................................16Appendix 3................................................17Appendix 4................................................20Appendix 5................................................26
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Introduction"This is New Zealand, right? We have employment
legislation, we have rights for workers. They shouldapply to everybody who's coming here lawfully to work. If
you've got your visa then they should have the samerights as you and I."
- Paul Brown, Lexington Legal, Christchurch NZ.1
New Zealand is gripped by a new phenomenon. All
around the world New Zealand is a desirable destination
no matter what your socio-economic standing. As I have
travelled people have often said to me that they want to
visit, or live, in New Zealand. When asked if they know
anything about New Zealand, no is a typical answer. So
New Zealand is a desirable destination even if you don’t
know anything about us, and for migrant workers who get
the opportunity to travel, live and work in this country
it is a dream come true.
Sadly, however, many do not experience the dream,
but rather enter a nightmare called forced or bonded
labour. The purpose of this study is to investigate the
increasing visible nature of forced and bonded migrant
labour in New Zealand and the opportunity that exists for
1 This is a quote from Paul Brown during his interview on the 3rd Degree Programme featured in Article 4.
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the Christian church to respond in helping victims and
survivors.
Each article presented in this study builds on the
one before to paint a picture that is relatively new for
New Zealand, at least to the general public. It begins
with where New Zealand sits on a global context; a review
of New Zealand laws; followed by three specific stories
that describe the nightmare that has emerged for some
unsuspecting foreign workers.
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Article 1US Department of State. Office to Monitor And Combat
Trafficking In Persons. 2014 Trafficking In Persons Report: New Zealand. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226787.htm (accessed 31 October 2014).
The US Department of State’s Annual Trafficking In
Persons (TIP) Report is “the world’s most comprehensive
resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts”
and takes a “global look at the nature and scope of
trafficking in persons and the broad range of government
actions to confront and eliminate it.”2
According to the 2014 TIP Report, “Some Asian and
Pacific Islanders migrate to New Zealand (NZ) to work in
the agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, and
hospitality sectors, or as domestic workers, and are
subsequently subjected to forced labor. Some foreign
workers are charged excessive and escalating recruitment
fees, experience unjustified salary deductions and
restrictions on their movement, and have their passports
confiscated and contracts altered. Some migrant workers
are also forced to work in job conditions that are
2 Online Introduction to the US Department of State’s Trafficking In Persons Report website. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/index.htm (accessed 20 November2014).
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different from what they were promised during their
recruitment, but do not complain about it because they
are afraid of losing their temporary work visas” (US
Department Of State 2014, 291).
New Zealand first appeared in the TIP Report in
2004. In that year the report highlighted that there was
a “large problem of children internally trafficked for
the purposes of sexual exploitation” (US Department Of
State 2004, 103). This significant shift over the last
ten years highlights the need for deliberate work on
understanding forced and bonded labour of migrant workers
to New Zealand, and mobilising New Zealand society toward
action.
Article 2Lambert, Steph. 2014. Protecting the Vulnerable: An Independent Review of
NZ’s Laws on Trafficking, Slavery & Exploitation. http://issuu.com/stephlambert9/docs/justice_acts_nz_-_protecting_the_vu/0 (accessed 19 November 2014).
Worried about the lack of prosecutions in New
Zealand, Justice Acts New Zealand “decided to take a look
at all the laws that touch on the issue of trafficking,
slavery and labour exploitation to see if there were
issues with the legislation making it difficult for
trafficking to be prosecuted” (Lambert 2014, 5).
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Among the findings were: inconsistency with
international protocols; lack of empowering legislation;
legal issues with contracts for services and employment
agreements; lack of training and resourcing of government
agencies; poor victim support services; and issues with
access to justice for victims (Lambert 2014, 5).
Highlighted in the report were issues in the fisheries,
agriculture, construction and horticulture (orchards &
fruit picking) industries where labour exploitation was
clearly evident, predominantly with migrant communities
(Lambert 2014, 14). Lambert’s recommendations invite New
Zealand to improve its laws, commit to greater ability
for authorities to enforce these laws; undertake further
research; and provide better and more accessible support
for victims and survivors. Lambert calls the New Zealand
Government to “allocate resources to work on creating
aftercare facilities for trafficking victims … as well as
emergency and/or social housing for exploited migrant
workers” (Lambert 2014, 32-33).
This report is fast becoming an anchor document of
discussion between government and non-government
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agencies, which in turn helps victims and survivors of
forced and bonded migrant labour in New Zealand.
Article 3Field, Michael. 2011. “Slave Fishing in NZ Waters Exposed.”
Stuff.co.nz, August 2011, sec. Industries. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5431221/Slave-fishing-in-NZ-waters-exposed (accessed 18 November 2014).
In what has been a long term issue of unsafe,
exploitative and slave like conditions aboard foreign-
crewed fishing vessels charted by New Zealand companies,
a comprehensive study by Auckland University researchers
Dr Christina Stringer and Dr Glenn Simmons (a PhD
candidate at the time), and fisheries consultant and
former skipper Daren Coulston, exposes the conditions
suffered by 2,000 mainly Asian men on 27 fishing vessels.
Thirty-two Indonesian fishermen took the courageous
step to leave the Korean vessel, Oyang 75, in
Christchurch, New Zealand’s Lyttelton Harbour, in 2010,
objecting to poor wages and abuse. One fisherman who
survived another Korean vessel was quoted in the study
saying they were trapped on the boat: "We were trapped
into modern slavery ... in the old days slaves were not
paid and chained, now we are paid and trapped ... but we
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are worse than slaves." A New Zealand official quoted in
the study said: "A floating freezer ... absolutely
appalling conditions just like a slum ... there are
definitely human rights abuses out there, they are slave
ships." Another said: "Live like rats."
There has been a general practice by many New
Zealand fishing companies to contract Foreign Chartered
Vessels (FCVs) to fish their quotas for them. These FCVs
have been allowed to sail in New Zealand waters under
their own foreign flags but expected to comply with New
Zealand maritime safety and employment laws. A recent
enacted bill will require FCVs to sail under a New
Zealand flag thereby requiring them to comply and
therefore be prosecutable under New Zealand law.3
Article 4TV3 News 3rd Degree Programme, “Christchurch Rebuild Migrants
Face Debts, Cramped Accommodation” (Aired 16 July 2014). http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/3rd-degree/christchurch-rebuild-migrants-face-debts-cramped-accommodation-2014071618 (accessed 4 November 2014)
This television programme highlighted a nasty trend
that is occurring in Christchurch New Zealand, a city
3 A series of articles, too many to include in this culture watch project, can be found at Dawson and Associates Maritime Law firm. http://www.maritimelaw.co.nz/articles/10/24/ (accessed 22 November 2014).
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that had devastating earthquakes in September 2010 and
February 2011, which effectively destroyed the Central
Business District and much of the city’s Eastern Suburbs.
The demolition and rebuild has been in full swing since
the earthquakes, but there are insufficient tradespeople
to complete the job. This has opened the way for foreign
workers to fill the thousands of vacancies that exist.
However, the needs of the city have also created an
opportunity for recruitment firms to take advantage of
this, making significant money on the back of migrant
workers while expecting their workers to live in cramped
conditions which no one in New Zealand would consider
acceptable. Further, the workers employment agreements
can best be described as illegal. Migrant labourers are
misled in the Philippines about the level of remuneration
and benefits they will receive, only to discover on
arrival there is a schedule of deductions that will be
made, therefore dramatically reducing their earning
capacity. Moreover, migrant workers are forced to sign a
second contract that has a bond clause in it of over
NZD10,000 if they try to leave. Finally, and probably
unknown to the New Zealand contractor, many have taken
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out loans in the Philippines to help secure their job in
the first place. In many cases they are paying interest
rates of 60% per annum on loans of around NZD4,000.
Article 5Campbell, Andrew. 2014. “Whisleblowers Faces Deportation.”
SunLive.co.nz, 11 July 2014, sec. Local News. http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/76865-whistleblower-faces-deportation.html (accessed 19 November 2014).
One of New Zealand’s significant export products
globally is the Kiwfruit. The main geographical location
of this horticulture industry giant is Te Puke in the Bay
of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand.
Hardeep Singh, a foreign resident in New Zealand since
2010, is an honest and hard working administrator. Things
began to head in the wrong direction when he refused to
sign a false letter stating that all of his Employers’
workers were paid according to the law. This action
caused him to be demoted and he stopped getting paid for
his work, and he eventually quit.
Hardeep worked for a contractor who secures work
from Kiwifruit orchardists. The orchards pay a certain
rate for the work to be completed and it is up to the
contractor to then pay their workers within New Zealand
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employment legislation. Hardeep’s employment advocate,
Rachel Rolston, suggests that young Indians lured to New
Zealand for office work find themselves on kiwifruit
orchards in forced labour gangs, and are beaten up if
they don’t comply with the contractors requirements. Some
workers are there illegally and contractors falsify
Inland Revenue returns to avoid paying income tax on
behalf of the Employee.
Because he blew the whistle on these and other
practices, Hardeep, without work, effectively fell
outside his visa conditions and was in danger of being
deported. An agreement was eventually reached with
Immigration NZ and Hardeep secured another job acceptable
to Immigration and his visa status was returned.
Advocates like Rachel have been extremely important in
helping Hardeep, but sadly there are many more who are
too fearful about asking for help and most do not know
their employment rights or that help is available.
Conclusion: The Churches Missional Response
There is no doubt that this new phenomena of forced
and bonded migrant labour is intensifying in New Zealand
as more and more cases come to light. There is disbelief
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that this sort of thing—modern slavery—could happen in
New Zealand, but there is increased acknowledgement that
there is now an issue in our backyard.
The Church, as a member of society, is also waking
up to this hideous reality, but there is still a lot of
ignorance and uncertainty about what can be done at a
local church level.
I had the opportunity in September 2014 to address
the National Church Leaders of Aotearoa New Zealand
(NCLANZ)4 quarterly meeting about this issue of slavery
and human trafficking here in New Zealand. I challenged
these Church leaders that this was no longer just an
offshore issue, and that it was happening in the
backyards of the communities that they lead and serve. We
can no longer say that slavery and human trafficking is
something that is out there in India, or Thailand, or
Europe, it is happening in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In asking where we should look to combat this evil I
suggested it is the Church that can be the first to
respond. Outside of government the Church in New Zealand
4 The National Leaders of all the Christian Denominations in New Zealand are invited to be part of the NCLANZ, and get to spend time with New Zealand’s Prime Minister to discuss matters of interest to the New Zealand Christian community.
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provides the greatest level of community services across
the whole community, something we are mandated by Jesus
to do. We need, I continued, a clarion call as the body
of Christ to take in the enslaved as well as the hungry
and the poor and the sick and naked, and the imprisoned
and the widowed. There are people trapped in our
communities and we, as the Church, need to wake up to the
reality that there are more desperate people in our
communities that need our help. We know how to help
people, and now our boundaries; our tent pegs are being
enlarged.
Without exception, the Church is geographically
located in every community in New Zealand. It makes sense
that with some training and equipping the Church can
provide practical support for victims and survivors as
they are identified. Collectively the Church has almost
every nationality covered therefore putting them in a
unique position to assist.
If the Church, at a local level, is prepared to
engage, the following is a list of activities they could
be involved in:
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1. Embark on a serious biblical study of justice and
commit to transforming unjust structures of society.
2. Embark on a journey to fully understanding the issue of
slavery with particular emphasis on migrant worker
exploitation in New Zealand.
3. Commit to engaging with migrant communities in the
local community so as to better understand those
communities.
4. Develop a first response team and strategy for
vulnerable migrant workers who need assistance in the
areas of:
a. Safety
b. Emergency housing
c. Advocacy with employment advocates, lawyers and
government agencies.
My final paper will unpack this further and demonstrate
how Stand Against Slavery can and will provide assistance
to the Church in all the activities above.
Forced and bonded migrant labour is gripping the New
Zealand landscape and it is time for the Church to rise
up and stand against it. It needs to embrace its God
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given mandate to help the oppressed and the captive in
our backyard.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed.
Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT
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ApendiciesAppendix 1
U.S. Department of State
OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS2014 Trafficking in Persons Report
New Zealand – Tier 1
New Zealand is a destination country for foreign men and women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and asource country for children subjected to sex trafficking within the country. Foreign men from Indonesia aboard foreign-flagged fishing vessels in New Zealand territorial waters are subjected to forced labor, including through debt bondage, confiscation of passports, underpayment of wages, imposition of significant debts, poor living and working conditions, and physical and sexual abuse. Some Asian and Pacific Islanders migrate to New Zealand to work in the agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, and hospitality sectors, or as domestic workers, and are subsequently subjected to forced labor. Some foreign workers are charged excessive and escalating recruitment fees, experience unjustified salary deductions and restrictionson their movement, and have their passports confiscated and contracts altered. Some migrant workers are also forced to work in job conditions that are different from what they were promised during their recruitment, but do not complain about it because they are afraid of losing their temporary work visas.
Foreign women, including some from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, may be at risk of coercive or forced prostitution. Some international students and temporary visa holders are vulnerable to forced labor in various sectors in New Zealand. A small number of girls and boys, often of Maori or Pacific Islander descent, aresubjected to street prostitution, and some are victims of
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gang-controlled trafficking rings. Some children are recruited by other girls or compelled by family members into child prostitution.
The Government of New Zealand fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Thegovernment, however, has not prosecuted any trafficking cases or convicted any trafficking offenders under its anti-trafficking legislation in the last eight years. It has not identified or certified any trafficking victims in the last 10 years, although it has conducted prevention and monitoring programs in vulnerable labor sectors. Amendments to the national anti-trafficking legislation to conform New Zealand law to international law requirements awaited parliamentary approval at the end of the reporting period. The government did not initiate any new investigations in 2013; three reported trafficking investigations from 2012 did not lead to prosecutions, despite evidence of forced labor. The government did not provide any trafficking-specific services to potential victims in vulnerable groups. The government, in collaboration with civil society members, continued to conduct awareness trainings throughout the year for government officials likely to encounter trafficking victims.
Recommendations for New Zealand:Enact legislation to expand New Zealand’s current anti- trafficking legal framework to prohibit and punish all forms of human trafficking; significantly increase efforts to investigate and prosecute both sex and labor trafficking offenses; update and fully implement the 2009national plan of action to address current trafficking trends in the country, redefine “trafficking” in the planto fit international law definitions, and implement action plan items consistent with the new definition; make greater efforts to assess the full extent of sex trafficking involving children and foreign women and labor trafficking involving migrant workers; continue to increase efforts to proactively screen vulnerable populations, including women and children in prostitution, foreign workers, and illegal migrants to identify and assist trafficking victims; increase effortsto provide assistance to child sex trafficking victims;
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investigate and prosecute recruiting agencies and employers who subject foreign workers to debt bondage or involuntary servitude through deceptive recruitment practices; and establish an ongoing anti-trafficking awareness campaign directed at clients of prostitution.
ProsecutionThe Government of New Zealand decreased efforts to hold traffickers accountable for trafficking crimes. New Zealand does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that prohibits all forms of trafficking, and the Parliament has yet to approve proposed amendments to conform the definition of trafficking to international law. Parliament sought to act on the amendments by the end of 2013, but postponed action until late 2014. Current New Zealand statutes define human trafficking as a transnational offense akin to smuggling and do not include exploitation as an element of the crime. The Crimes Act of 1961 criminalizes only some specified formsof forced labor. Slavery is criminalized, but is limited to situations of debt bondage and serfdom; this prohibition does not cover forced labor obtained by meansother than debt, law, custom, or agreement that prohibitsa person from leaving employment. The Dealing in Slaves statute and the Prostitution Reform Act criminalize inducing or compelling a person to provide commercial sexand, with regard to children, provide a broader prohibition to include facilitating, assigning, causing, or encouraging a child to provide commercial sex. While statutory penalties for these crimes are generally commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape, the maximum penalty of seven years’imprisonment prescribed for the sex trafficking of children is not commensurate with penalties imposed for rape or with the maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment prescribed for inducing or compelling the commercial sexual services of an adult. The Crimes Act of1961 and the Wages Protection Act of 1983 prohibit fraudulent employment and recruiting practices and prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine equivalent to approximately $250,000; these penalties are commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape.
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While these laws could be used to prosecute and convict trafficking offenders, the government has never done so. According to NGOs and government officials, the reason for the absence of anti-trafficking prosecutions and identification of victims is the high evidentiary bar of the current law. In 2013, the government initiated one new investigation, a decrease from the eight opened in 2012. The government investigated allegations of forced labor against a farmer, but it did not prosecute the farmer for labor trafficking, despite indications that heunderpaid his workers and kept them in conditions that were indicative of forced labor. None of the three labor trafficking investigations that were pending at the closeof the last reporting period resulted in trafficking convictions. A case involving Fijian nannies alleged to have been subjected to domestic servitude resulted in an acquittal on trafficking charges, although the nannies were awarded back pay and damages for underpayment of wages and excessively long work hours. A case involving Indian students who were forced to work in Auckland’s liquor stores resulted in fines for non-trafficking offenses. A case involving a worker at a farm that experienced labor exploitation resulted in fines. The government did not report any sex trafficking investigations or prosecutions. The Immigration Act prohibits retention or control of a person’s passport or any other travel or identity document, though there were no prosecutions under that provision during the year. Thegovernment continued to train customs officers on trafficking issues as part of a mandatory course and provided training sessions on victim identification to front-line officers at various agencies. It did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking.
ProtectionThe Government of New Zealand maintained its victim protection efforts. It did not identify any victims of trafficking. In 2012, the government reported adopting a victim-centered approach to monitoring industries with high numbers of migrant workers; this did not result in the identification of trafficking victims in 2013. Labor inspectors periodically visited legal brothels to ensure that working conditions were in compliance with New
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Zealand law; this did not result in the identification oftrafficking victims. Labor inspectors reported conductingmore than 1,000 audits in work places that employ migrantworkers; identified breaches of labor standards did not result in trafficking investigations or prosecutions.Although the government investigated allegations of children in prostitution and referred a child victim to social services in 2012, it did not report any investigations or referrals of child victims in 2013. Thegovernment continued to provide temporary work visas to 35 crew members of foreign charter vessels during the ongoing investigations of alleged exploitation onboard the vessels.New Zealand law requires that victims of crime, includinghuman trafficking, receive access to and information about services, including medical care, legal aid, and counseling. Though the government did not operate any shelters specifically for trafficking victims, on a case-by-case basis New Zealand police have provided assistance, such as food and shelter, to victims of crimes and referred them to NGOs or other service providers. Immigration officers and labor inspectors usedtemplates that include questions to determine if an individual is a trafficking victim; these templates were augmented with an online learning module that raised awareness of trafficking. The law also authorizes the extension of temporary residency to victims of trafficking for up to 12 months and makes them eligible for a variety of government-provided or government-fundedservices while their case is under investigation. There were no reports of trafficking victims detained, fined, or jailed for unlawful acts committed as trafficking victims. The government provided working visas to victimswhile trafficking cases are under investigation or in trial. The government reported providing legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims of crime to countries where they may face hardship or retribution,but no trafficking victims received this benefit in 2013.
PreventionThe Government of New Zealand maintained its prevention efforts. In March 2012, an inter-ministerial inquiry outlined specific steps for the government to take to prevent labor trafficking onboard foreign fishing
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vessels; these steps were not implemented in 2013. For example, a draft law requiring all foreign charter vessels fishing in New Zealand territorial waters to operate as New Zealand-flagged vessels and abide by New Zealand’s health and labor laws failed to obtain approvalin the parliament for the second consecutive year. At theend of the reporting period, the draft version of the lawincluded a Maori quota exemption clause which may allow current labor trafficking offenders to continue operatingin New Zealand territorial waters. Government oversight of the fishing industries failed to lead to any labor trafficking investigations. The Code of Practice on Foreign Fishing Crew to ensure fair payments was last updated in December 2012.
In April 2013, the government sponsored, with an international NGO, a Trafficking in Persons Conference, which included an action plan to incorporate more government-civil society partnerships in addressing humantrafficking and a proposal for more proactive investigations by law enforcement. The government continued to distribute brochures on trafficking indicators to community groups in six languages through its regional offices; the government also distributed thebrochures to those in the sex trade and the horticulture and viticulture industries. The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment continued to use a train-the-trainer module to raise awareness about trafficking crimes and to teach indicators to police and immigration officers to help them identify victims within the vulnerable migrant populations. The government did not take significant steps to reduce the overall demand for forced labor. The government provided anti- trafficking training to diplomats and military personnel prior to their deployment abroad for diplomatic and international peacekeeping missions. The government continued to cooperate with foreign governments to identify child sex tourists and to prioritize the prevention of child sex tourism abroad by New Zealand residents, although these efforts did not result in any investigations or prosecutions.
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Appendix 2Lambert, Steph. 2014. Protecting the Vulnerable: An Independent Review of
NZ’s Laws on Trafficking, Slavery & Exploitation. http://issuu.com/stephlambert9/docs/justice_acts_nz_-_protecting_the_vu/0 (accessed 19 November 2014).
Due to the nature and size of the document I have not downloaded it to include inside this paper. Opening the issuu.com link above andclicking on the “Share icon” you can retrieve aPDF of the publication for printing.
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Appendix 3
Slave fishing in NZ waters exposed http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5431221/Slave-fishing-in-NZ-waters-exposed
MICHAEL FIELD Last updated 18:30 11/08/2011
PRIME PARKING: The Korean-flagged Shin Ji - which was fishing for Maori quota eels until its crew walked off alleging abuse - in Auckland.
Disturbing levels of inhumane conditions and abuse have been found among the foreign charter fishing vessels (FCVs) operating in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, a University of Auckland Business School study reported tonight. The long awaited study into conditions suffered by 2000 mainly Asian men on 27 vessels backs up reporting by Fairfax Media this year which has led to a joint ministerial investigation into the operations.
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Dominated by aging Korean fishing boats, the FCVs are mainly used to fish Maori quota with most of their catch shipped straight to China for processing.
Senior lecturer Dr Christina Stringer, PhD candidate Glenn Simmons and fisheries consultant and former skipperDaren Coulston interviewed crews and families in two Asian countries, and obtained dozens of files using the Official Information Act to expose the operations.
They also have contracts, false time sheets, bank statements and bonus sheets which show New Zealand officials are routinely and systematically lied to over wages and conditions.
They found FCVs engaged in illegal dumping and high grading - throwing quota and by-catch fish overboard in the hope of getting higher value commercial catches later.
"Not in New Zealand's waters, surely?" focused on the operations of Sajo Oyang Corporation of Korea which last year had six men killed when the 30-year-old Oyang 70 sank off the Otago coast.
Replacement crew on Oyang 75 have walked off the ship in Lyttelton objecting to poor wages and abuse.
Sajo Oyang Corporation spokesman Glenn Inwood has yet to react to the university study but following a Sunday Star-Times preview called the study "ludicrous and bizarre".
The university report includes statements from sailors and witnesses.
"Officers are vicious bastards ... factory manager just rapped this 12 kg stainless steel pan over his head, splits the top of his head, blood pissing out everywhere...," one informant told the university.
"I told the Master can't leave him cause he's bleeding all over the squid. He said 'oh no no he's Indonesian no touchy no touchy'... Took him to the bridge and third
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mate said 'Indonesian no stitchy no stitchy'. I ended up giving over 26 stitches ... bit of a mess."
An Indonesian fisherman who survived a Korean boat was quoted in the study saying they were trapped on the boat:"We were trapped into modern slavery ... in the old days slaves were not paid and chained, now we are paid and trapped ... but we are worse than slaves."
A New Zealand official quoted in the study said: "A floating freezer ... absolutely appalling conditions justlike a slum ... there are definitely human rights abuses out there, they are slave ships."
Another said: "Live like rats."
Foreign officers also sexually abused Indonesians at sea,according to the report.
A fisherman said: "The captain asked one by one to give him a massage ... from head to toe ... we don't want to do it, but I am pressured to do it... every day."
Said another: "Galley boy, good looking boy on a Korean boat was raped by four Chinese crew who got him...."
The study also recounts the plight of "Eula" lost her husband "Mohammad" when Oyang 70 sank off the South Island last year.
For their safety, it is not their real names.
The new widow, trying to earn a living as a cleaner in Jakarta earning $4 a day, said she went to see the agent who hired her husband. There was insurance and backpay that would have made a difference to her young child.
Simmons, who met the woman and her family and friends in Java, told of what happened when Eula saw the agent.
"They said husband's insurance money has not come from the Korean agent and if you want to get insurance money, you must sleep with the director of the agency for a few days," a friend of Eula told Simmons.
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"After (she came) back she cried loudly and could not speak. Then she asked where should she complain, whether there is justice and righteousness on earth"
In 1999 Eula helped her husband "Mohammad" get a job through a manning agent on Oyang 70, with promised earnings of US$280 ($332) a month.
To get the job she had to sell her wedding present gold necklace, to pay a five million rupiah ($700) manning agent fee.
Under the deal, the agent would pay 1.5 million rupiah each month to Eula and retain the balance until Mohammad returned home at the end of his two year contract. The agent would take up to 50 per cent as a fee.
The study revealed that a foreigner on an FCV can expect to earn between $6700 and $11,600 a year while a foreigner working on a New Zealand-flagged fishing boat would earn between $60,000 and $80,000.
Meanwhile, the Oyang 75 crew remain in Christchurch accommodation trying to get money owed to them.
In Auckland a crew from a related Korean FCV, the nearly 30-year-old Shin Ji - which is moored right in front of Auckland's new multi million dollar event centre - are also fighting for their wages.
But the Government is ordering them out, with ImmigrationMinister Kate Wilkinson ignoring a request from Labour MPDarien Fenton.
Green Party MP Keith Locke said given that Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley has ordered an inquiry, it was unjustice to report the Oyang 75 crew.
"New Zealand has a responsibility to make sure the Oyang 75 crew get the payments they are legally entitled to. There is no guarantee the Korean owners will oblige once the crew members are back in Indonesia," Locke said.
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"It is shameful that New Zealand has allowed such shocking conditions to exist on these fishing boats for so long. It's not far off slave labour, and a dark stain on New Zealand's reputation."
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Appendix 4
http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/3rd-degree/christchurch-rebuild-migrants-face-debts-cramped-accommodation-2014071618
N.B. Below is the text on Website (not a transcript but main essence of television programme). It is quite probably that you will not be able to view the video footage outside of New Zealand.
Christchurch rebuild migrants face debts, cramped accommodationBy Michael Morrah, ReporterWednesday 16 Jul 2014 6:29 p.m.
In the third winter since the earthquakes, men and machines are still working across Christchurch.
As the demolition nears an end, attention is now turning to the rebuild. Thousands of workers will be needed to rejuvenate a bleak landscape.
And to get numbers, the Government has fast-tracked visa applications to get more people in from overseas.
Most of the international workforce is coming from the Philippines, where the Trade Minister was just last month.
More than 700 workers came in last year and the Government is confident that is only going to increase.
Despite such encouraging messages, for some Filipino workers the Christchurch experience has been a major disappointment. There are stories of oppressive contracts, job losses and working without pay, not to mention crowded accommodation – three people to a room, aroom that is used not only for sleeping but cooking too.
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Complete with stove and fridge, many of the immigrant workers live at accommodation in the Christchurch suburb of Mairehau. It is not only crowded, but it can be pricey too. The workers say their room costs $465 a week – that's $155 a head.
"It's a single bedroom," says lawyer Paul Brown. "Three guys living and cooking in a single bedroom? There'll be no one in New Zealand who is ever going to accept that asreasonable living conditions."
"This is just gross exploitation of workers," says FIRST Union southern region secretary Paul Watson. "It is not the environment we want for migrants to come to Canterbury. It's sullying our international reputation asa destination for migrant workers."
But the company providing that accommodation, recruitmentfirm Tech5, rejects such criticism. It says in the crowded Christchurch housing market, it does a good job.
"These are top quality properties, typically $500,000 and$700,000 each," says Tech5 director John Wyatt. "They arequality accommodation. They have flat-screen TVs, washingmachine, dryers. They are step off the bus and into quality accommodation."
But current Tech5 employee "Antonio" says when he first arrived earlier this year, he stepped into something quite different. He says he was sleeping in a room at a house with not three but five other men on three sets of bunk beds, each paying rent of $155 per week.
"There are three double decks there and you can't sleep because one is calling to the Philippines, the other is watching movies," he says. "Where is the relaxation? Where is the fairness here? There is no privacy."
"We didn't have six people in a room," says Mr Wyatt. "That's not the case."
But Antonio's story is not isolated.
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"We are living in a garage for three months and we are paying $155 each week," says Tech5 worker Reynaldo Lugtu.
Mr Lugtu was brought here in March by Tech5 and initiallystayed at another property owned by the company directors, sleeping in a converted garage with seven other men.
"Just eight people living in the garage. We have one heater and if you look in the outside we have one Portaloo."
Tech5 has 117 Filipino workers and says it has reduced rent to $125 a week per worker, which includes all amenities.
"We're paying for gas, power, internet, Sky, and then we'll put on the odd boxing match that they like and, like I said, there's no issue with the housing," says Mr Wyatt. "I'm not quite sure why we're talking about it actually."
A worker representative put up by the company agrees there is no issue.
"As of now the boys are happy with what they have in their houses," says Mr Wyatt. "Actually they are told if they are not happy with the accommodation you can find your own."
It wasn't just Tech5's properties that appeared to be overloaded. We visited other worker accommodation with shared bedrooms, rundown bathrooms and crowded kitchens.
At one flat on the outskirts of the city, 14 Filipinos are living in a six- bedroom villa, each charged $150 a week.
James Saunders' firm, Major Holdings, brought the men over and housed them at a friend's rental property.
"The rates that people were charging we heard was $200 a week, so $150 a week we thought was fair," says Mr Saunders.
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But the men have more on their minds than just their accommodation. They came here as painters and carpenters,but three months after arriving they have been told they no longer have jobs.
"This is really bad for us because we are really shocked what happened to our company, because we didn't receive any notice coming from our company," says worker Frankie.
Saunders' company went into liquidation after a contract he assumed he'd get didn't eventuate. Uncertain and without income, his men must wait for their visas to be altered before they can start work elsewhere.
And while they wait, they're being chased by debt collectors back home. Why? Well there are hundreds of recruitment companies in Manila who charge locals anything from NZ$3000 to NZ$15,000 as a fee for getting them work abroad.
Most men paid around NZ$4000 to be here. For these men, that's a small fortune, and many of them got the money through loans, with monthly payments.
The cash to secure the job is borrowed from loan sharks who charge cripplingly high interest. In the case of these men, it's 5 percent a month – that's 60 percent a year.
So what makes these men take on such huge debt? Well, a job here – earning anything from $18 to $25 an hour can be life-changing, something that can secure their families' future.
Hundreds turn up for interviews in the Philippines even if there are only a handful of positions.
"A job in New Zealand is like winning the lottery and as a result it makes them quite open for exploitation, and Ido have some concerns about that," says Anthony Leighs ofLeighs Construction.
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Mr Leighs has taken on 75 Filipino workers. His team manages the recruitment themselves, pay for their workersto get to Christchurch and then set them to work on theirown company contracts so their workers are not saddled with debt.
"A lot of businesses have jumped into Christchurch and consider it's the next gold mine or gold rush town and you've got to be part of it," says Mr Leighs. "The reality is it's a really demanding and challenging environment to operate a business at the moment. And I think as a result of that you are seeing some organisations taking advantage of some staff who can't look after themselves quite as well as the traditional New Zealand worker can."
The cost of work Some Filipinos working in Christchurch have endured theircountry's own great rebuild, after last year's devastating typhoon.
Like their homeland, the landscape in Christchuch has been altered dramatically. And in the aftermath, there have been changes in the commercial environment too.
With an estimated $40 billion worth of work, the Christchurch rebuild has seen a spike in the number of labour hire and recruitment businesses operating in the city. Firms set up specifically to get foreign labour in and then contract those workers out, at market hourly rates.
"Some of them are making really big money," says Mr Brown, lawyer. "Some of the recruitment companies where they're their own labour hire company, they're paying $20, $21, they're charging out $30, $31, $32. Great money! Ten bucks an hour for every hour your guy works, 40 hours, 400 bucks per worker – that's big money."
Mr Brown has acted for dozens of Filipino workers in Christchurch who have found themselves in strife with their New Zealand employers. Sixteen of those workers were employed by the company we met at the start of this story – Tech5.
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Tech5 prides itself on being a one-stop shop for construction firms, importing a workforce who is highly skilled, equipped with gear and ready to work.
There's no doubt bringing in a foreign workforce requiresa significant investment. Tech5 take on all the upfront costs of recruitment and travel, so their workers don't necessarily have to face the loan sharks. But the companydoes want the workers to reimburse those costs, and workers we've spoken to say the Tech5 contract they sign in the Philippines doesn't make that entirely clear.
The only mention of costs is the need to repay the company for a toolkit without specifying the amount.
But the contract handed over in New Zealand is different.Suddenly there's a schedule of costs the employee is liable for – flights, medical tests, trade testing, site testing, insurance, even branded clothing as well as the tools. The grand total: $7700.
"It's definitely not $7700," says Tech5's Mr Wyatt. "The contract has been amended since then. We've had discussions with everyone in relation to that.
"With the amount of guys we've brought in it's enabled usto reduce the cost quite a lot. So the guys' costs have gone down to, I think if i can remember, about $5600 now.And they are all aware of that before they leave the Philippines."
Tech5 says workers get verbally briefed on the costs during an induction before they leave the Philippines.
Tech5 worker representative John Ordonez agrees.
"They were told about this – every deduction, airfare, for the tools and all the things, accommodation."
But ex-Tech5 worker Mr Lugtu says the new contract in NewZealand came as a shock.
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"When we are in the Philippines, even in our induction, also in our contract, it doesn't have any issue regardingto pay that money. Then when we arrive here, we sign a contract to pay that.
"We are all surprised, and naturally we ask each other why the contract is like that, you know, 'We don't know about here, sir.' We are afraid. That's why we can't talkmuch. We can say nothing, only sign, that only. We can donothing."
"That's why we have employment agreements, and that's whythe law says you have employment agreements, so that you do not do this verbally," says Mr Brown. "You prevent disputes by having a written employment agreement."
But Mr Brown's biggest concern with the contract is the small print in addendum one – specifically, point six. It's a warning that if the employee does not complete their three years with Tech5 they will have to pay the company a bond of more than US$10,000.
"I would call that an attempt at bonded servitude," says Mr Brown. "That's a direct attempt to stop these guys working for someone else."
Bonded servitude is an emotive term for sure, but Mr Brown says that's the way some workers see it.
"Yeah, it's a threat," says Antonio. "It's like a chain in our neck up. That contract is a chain for us. It's squeezing us. We don't have freedom. I don't know if thatis the exact term but it seems like they are controlling us through that contract."
Tech5 says the clause was intended to stop other companies poaching their workers.
But it admits US$10,000 would be difficult for any of theworkers to get.
"Obviously we are trying to protect our investment," saysMr Wyatt. "Look, the reality is would we ever carry that out because we have a right to that, because it's in the
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contract to do that? But that's not who we are as a company and we've since reviewed that clause anyway."
Tech5 says it's now amending all employee contracts afteran audit by the Government's labour inspectorate.
There's no doubt this rebuild is unprecedented in New Zealand, so it's not surprising some companies like Tech5are learning as they go.
The Council of Trade Unions says amending contracts is a step in the right direction, but ultimately it says thereneeds to be closer monitoring of all rebuild businesses.
"We do need to develop a community culture that we want to actually ensure that migrants when they come and work here will be treated well," says Mr Watson.
"This is New Zealand, right?" says Mr Brown. "We have employment legislation, we have rights for workers. They should apply to everybody who's coming here lawfully to work. If you've got your visa then they should have the same rights as you and I."
Statement from Tech5 in regards to the 3rd Degree programme: "We can put our hands on our hearts and say that we didn’t get everything right in the beginning, but we havenot sat back and done nothing. We have improved everything significantly and have succeeded in what we set out to do."
For migrant support, contact Mely Feria of Migrante Christchurch: 0800 863 477 or email [email protected].
Credits: Reporter: Michael Morrah Producer: Chris Wilks Camera: George Murahidy Editor: Toby Longbottom 3rd Degree
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Appendix 5
Whistleblower faces deportationPosted on 11th Jul 2014 10:20 | By Andrew Campbell [email protected]
An Indian orchardworker who claimshe assistedImmigration NZ andthe Ministry ofBusinessImmigration andEmployment inuncovering workerabuse in thekiwifruit industryis facingdeportation.
Hardeep Singh provided authorities with information leading to the expulsion of three illegal workers from Bay of Plenty orchards.
He also provided information about industry operations inthe contract labour sector for MBIE and Immigration NZ, he says.
He told SunLive he informed authorities that he would likely be fired as a result of providing officialdom information and was given assurances it would be dealt with and he would be looked after.
The 28-year-old has now lost his job and been given a week to find another one, or deportation procedures will commence.
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“I don't know how he [the employer] found out, but he found out I contacted MBIE,” says Hardeep.
Hardeep was subsequently removed from his administrative position and sent out into the orchard. He says he was not paid from that day.
It's not a small problem, says Hardeep. There are many kiwifruit workers forced into working for less than minimum wage and not paid holiday pay under the threat ofdeportation.
A woman he says, who also stood up to the illegal practices, was unable to get more work.
“I was beaten, but I was lucky, some people get more beaten up,” says Hardeep.
In one instance Hardeep says an argument with his former boss on the orchard turned into a minor assault and police were called. Hardeep was not injured and no charges were laid.
“First I stand up, the next day I don't have a job,” saysHardeep.
Hardeep's first clash with his former employer happened in February this year during a crack-down by Immigration NZ.
Hardeep refused to sign a statement saying all workers were paid according to the law.
“He came to me bringing a letter stating that everybody got holiday pay and everything was all right,” says Hardeep.
“I refused to sign that letter.”
Hardeep's been in New Zealand since April 2010. He used to manage Japanese, German English workers, but says these days they are mainly Indian and Nepalese.
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Tauranga Employment consultant Rachel Rolston says young Indians lured to New Zealand with the promise of office work instead find themselves on kiwifruit orchards in forced labour gangs.
“We're kind of at our wits end out here,” says Rachel.
“It's happening all the time, it's an ongoing thing. It'sconstant, year round.”
It's been long known anecdotally that there are illegal kiwifruit workers on the orchards during harvest in particular, says Rachel. It's been reported but nothing is done to address it.
“Everyone knows they are out there. I was a kiwifruit worker. I know they were out there. You didn't see the bit where they were getting beaten up. You never saw that.
“That's not the job they signed up for. These guys are office workers, but they just have no choice.”
When Hardeep was sent out into the orchard to work he discovered a heap of employees in similar circumstances. He says it is the illegal workers and students being paidless than the minimum wage.
Hardeep told authorities he had documented evidence of the wage and time records issued, pay records showing hundreds of dollars in arrears for several workers, and video evidence of migrants forced to work jobs they did not start with, says Rachel.
“Still, there is apparently nothing that can be done for him.”
“Immigration's been told his employment was terminated because he was a bad employee and Immigration's said ‘getanother job or get out of the country'. This is exactly what happens to these people. That's why they just stay there and put up with it.”
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Immigration New Zealand cannot discuss the specifics of Mr Singh's case without a privacy waiver from him, says communications advisor Philippa Norman.
The Labour Inspectorate and Immigration NZ are working together to crack down on exploitative behaviour, such asthrough the recent proactive audits of kiwifruit contractors in the Bay of Plenty, Immigration NZ says in a statement.
“The Labour Inspectorate is aware of Mr Singh's situationand a labour inspector is working with him to resolve hisconcerns.”
Labour Minister and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says the issues of migrant exploitation are taken very seriously.
“I expect MBIE to take complaints of migrant exploitationseriously and investigate them,” says Simon.
“And where that isn't happening I want to know about it.”
Simon doesn't think migrant exploitation is a large problem in horticulture, but there is concern that it is growing.
Jail penalties for worker exploitation have recently beenincreased to seven years, and the MBIE has recently put out a discussion document ‘Playing by the rules'. The paper is about migrant exploitation and ensuring everyoneis doing the right thing to ensure people working in New Zealand get at least minimum employment standards, says Simon.
“Minimum wage, holidays, pay, because the labour inspectors tell me that cases of egregious exploitation are not just in horticulture but in many areas, retail, primary production hospitality, is on the rise,” says Simon.
“We've recently increased penalties under the immigrationlaw to seven years in prison for bad migrant exploitation. Cases of systemic underpayment, lack of
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holiday pay, work akin to forced work. We are really hammering that.”
The leadership in the horticulture industry also takes the issue of worker exploitation very seriously, and havebegun working with officials from MBIE and the labour ministry to make sure they are doing everything possible to clean up the margins of what is a very important industry for the region, says Simon.
His office released a discussion paper on June 11 on minimum employment standards and submissions close on July 23.
“While the majority of employers in New Zealand comply with the employment standards, there are a concerning number of reports of serious and systemic breaches, whichinclude practices that exploit vulnerable and migrant workers,” says Simon.
“New Zealand's employment standards are not optional and this Government is committed to stamping out dodgy and deliberate employment breaches.”
The discussion document outlines a range of options to improve the enforcement system, focussing on ensuring sanctions are an effective deterrent, adapting the enforcement approach of the Labour Inspectorate to increase the chances of identifying employers, who break the law, and improving information on how to comply and deal with alleged breaches and improving the processes for dealing with them.
The Labour Inspectorate is responsible for investigating and taking action against breaches of minimum employment standards and there are some employment related issues which fall outside the Labour Inspectorate's jurisdiction.
If a Labour Inspector is unable to assist an employee with their concerns then they advise the employee of the agency which can help, such as the Employment Relations Authority.
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MBIE also encourages anyone looking for advice on their employment situation to call its contact centre on 0800 20 90 20.
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