A Bay of Plenty kiwifruit employer and his company have been fined more than NZ$40,000 after an investigation found that migrant workers were underpaid and charged unlawful job-placement fees to secure jobs.
According to a recently released Employment Relations Authority decision, Tarun Gautam and Hariom Horticulture Ltd breached multiple employment laws, including the Employment Relations Act, Holidays Act, Minimum Wage Act and Wages Protection Act.
The company, which is now in liquidation, was investigated by the Labour Inspectorate following complaints from workers. Two further complaints emerged during the eight-month inquiry, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.
Authority member Claire English found that several employees were dependent on the company for work visas, leaving them vulnerable.
“This is a matter where the imbalance of power has allowed an experienced local businessman to employ multiple vulnerable immigrants without providing them with minimum employment entitlements,” the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
The investigation revealed that five employees, Jai Shiva, Vinayak Chopra, Raman Shekhar, Jagmeet Singh and Phoolmeet Kaur, were denied minimum entitlements, including proper holiday pay and minimum wages.
Workers Shekhar, Singh and Shiva were collectively owed NZ$8,203 in wage arrears.
Jagmeet Singh also told the authority he had paid more than NZ$23,300 to secure employment at the kiwifruit business through multiple transfers into New Zealand and Indian bank accounts linked to Gautam and his family, the New Zealand Herald has reported.
Some payments were allegedly made to an account belonging to Arun Bala, identified as Gautam’s mother.
However, the authority ruled that only the NZ$11,276 payment transferred into Gautam’s New Zealand account on March 30, 2023, could legally be reimbursed, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.
English found a total of 12 breaches across employment legislation, including failures to maintain records, underpayment of wages, failure to pay holiday entitlements, and unlawfully seeking premiums from workers.
Gautam was ordered to pay NZ$40,000 in penalties. Each of the five workers will receive NZ$5,000, while Singh will receive an additional NZ$5,000, recognising the unlawful premium payment.
Kevin Finnegan from the Labour Inspectorate said the case highlighted ongoing concerns in the horticulture sector.
“The vast majority of orchard owners and labour hire operators working in the kiwifruit industry comply with employment standards and take good care of their workers.
“But there are some who believe it is acceptable to exploit vulnerable people to gain unfair competitive advantage,” as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
The ruling follows Operation Indigo, a Labour Inspectorate-led crackdown carried out in the Bay of Plenty last month targeting non-compliant behaviour in the kiwifruit sector.
“Through operations like this, we are able to identify those who break the law and then take appropriate action,” Finnegan said.
“We want all players in this sector to operate on a level-playing field,” the New Zealand Herald has quoted.