Winston Peters
Wellington, September 15, 2017
The latest case of a migrant worker being treated like a slave proves again the ineptitude of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and the Labour Inspectorate.
To get residency, this man had to pay $25,000 in cash to secure a job and was then ripped off so badly he is now homeless, jobless and does not have a valid visa.
When he complained of his exploitation to INZ, they said that he did not meet their threshold, whatever that is.
INZ then passed the buck to the Labour Inspectorate who appear to have done nothing. They would probably have been aware that referring this man’s case on to the Labour Inspectorate would be a waste of time.
Understaffed Inspectorate
The Labour Inspectorate has only 54 Inspectorate Officers for the entire country and has to deal with tens of thousands of workers.
The disturbing thing is this man’s plight is being shared by many other migrants which the government ignores.
New Zealand First will treble the number of Labour Inspectors across the country and any immigrant employers caught ripping off workers should face deportation.
Winston Peters is elected Member of Parliament from Northland and Leader of the New Zealand First Party.
