The Kiwi-Indian Giving Exploited Migrants Another Chance

Indians are now New Zealand's biggest immigration group, and the third largest ethnic group in the country. But their own government is warning them to stay away.

Indian immigration to New Zealand has been going on for more than 100 years, but in the past 25 years it has been synonymous with exploitation.

The stories come thick and fast - dozens of Indian men living in squalid conditions, their promised jobs amounting to nothing; nurses training for and gaining Kiwi qualifications only to find there are no jobs; paying tens of thousands of dollars for visas charged by extortionists; forced to work long hours on little pay in restaurants and on building sites.

The situation has become so bad that the Indian government is warning nurses not to come to this country, unless they have a genuine job offer.

Health authorities were not hiring because of budget cuts; there were changes to the qualification system; and nurses were getting rejected for being on visitor visas.

The Indian High Commission also warned nurses to refrain from paying agents who promised "guaranteed" jobs.

In January, India's External Affairs Ministry issued an advisory on the rise of unregistered recruitment agents who charged exorbitant fees.

The ministry advised prospective migrants to seek jobs overseas through registered recruitment agents.

Malkiat Singh, a licensed immigration advisor, told The Detail that New Zealand's pathways to residencies were outdated.

"We can create pathways of residence where they are given clear indication to migrants that these are the skills we need and here is a simple pathway to follow. At the moment the pathways are too hard," he said.

Malkiat believed that this was leading to migrant exploitation.

"If we evaluate our education policies and immigration policies, there is a clear disconnect. And we have a clear opportunity with Erica Stanford leading both these ministries," Malkiat said.

But he also suggested that some exploited migrants understood that someone was playing the system, and were willing to risk the consequences.

"That determination to settle in New Zealand is so strong, they would agree or comply with exploitative arrangements, because the stakes seem so high."

There was also a social stigma in India tied up with returning home, and being branded as a failure.

"They have left their homes and lands with the hope of a better future for their kids, for their families. This is the reason they say yes to being exploited .. but it doesn't have to be that way."

Sujith Gaha now works as a chef at the Sudima after being on an exploited migrant visa Photo: Blessen Tom

Exploitation is nothing new - it's something the Indian community in New Zealand has been dealing with for many years.

And ever since the introduction of the Accredited Employer Work Visa in 2022, the situation has worsened.

Sudesh Jhunjhunwala, chief executive of Sudima Hotels and Hind Management, is one person helping to pick up the pieces of broken promises.

"To me that's causing human misery .. it's like you are taking part in slavery, and anyone who sees that and keeps quiet, I think you are equally complicit," he says.

He experienced first-hand the dark side of such schemes when, as the manager of two hotels he was offered $10,000 (per letter) to write a job letters of work promises.

"I was so upset that this person would even think of calling me up for something like that," he said.

He has employed three exploited migrants as chefs or other hotel workers, including chef Sujith Gaha, who told The Detail that migrants should be aware of their rights.

Jhunjhunwala is one of the senior business leaders in the Indian community in New Zealand who wants to see change happen when it comes to migrant worker exploitation.

He emphasised the importance of stable immigration policies to curb migrant exploitation.

"You can't be chopping and changing the rules all the time," he said.

"I don't have jobs for everyone. It made a very small difference in the number of people exploited. I was only able to save three of them but there's so many other people who are exploited so badly."