Sending out a loud and clear message to employers, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ordered a grocery store in Wellington to pay penalties and arrears of more than $53,000 for making a migrant worker pay more than $10,000 in “premiums”.
A Labour Inspector who investigated employment law breaches against Jaspreet Singh found that Singh was forced to pay his employer, Sun 2 Moon Limited, more than $10,000 in premiums and was not even paid the minimum wage and holiday pay, the NZ Herald reported.
‘‘The exploitation of migrant workers in New Zealand is unacceptable,’’ Labour Inspectorate regional manager Loua Ward said.
The grocery store has been reported to be operated by Luv Kumar Khatter. The investigation found that Singh was forced by his employer to pay the premium through an upfront payment of $5000, regular small cash payment of $3240 and funding company expenses worth $2167 on his personal credit card.
Mrs Ward said that all the employers must adhere to the employment laws and keep proper time and wage records for all the employees.
“The exploitation of migrant workers in New Zealand is unacceptable. […] No employer should require employees to pay premiums or pay wages back. Employees must be paid for all hours they work,” she said.
The store, Sun 2 Moon Limited, located on the Wills St in Wellington CBD was replaced by a new store, Indian Spice Land, eight months ago and is under new management.
Condemning the act of forcing a migrant worker to pay premiums, the ERA said that it was an abuse of power by the employee and the money should be returned to Singh.
The grocery store was penalised for breaching the minimum employment standards including Employment Relations Act, Minimum Wage Act, Wages Protection Act and Holidays Act.
Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment said that the inspectorate, as the key area of investigation, targeted the employers that “exploit vulnerable migrant workers”.
The Ministry encourages anyone in such situation, or who knows of anyone in a similar situation, to call on 0800 20 90 20 and makes sure that their concerns are handled in a safe environment.