Gain for foreign workers still not enough?

by PETER GRACE
Overseas foreign workers have gained something from a new international agreement, but more is needed, says Christchurch priest Fr Jim Consedine.

In September, Workplace Relations and Safety and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse and the Philippines Secretary of Labour and Employment, Ms Rosalinda Baldoz, signed a bilateral arrangement on the recruitment and treatment of Filipino migrant workers.
Mr Woodhouse said that between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2015, Immigration New Zealand approved 5614 temporary work visas for the Canterbury rebuild.
The top nationality during that period was the Philippines, with 2568. Fr Consedine told NZ Catholic that the agreement was welcome as a positive but partial initiative.
“It should achieve one of its important aims by outlawing illegal recruitment and placing the process in the Philippines onto an official basis,” he said. “Too many migrant workers have been the victims at home of exorbitant recruitment fees, charging usurious rates requiring long-term repayment from meagre wages once the migrant is in New Zealand.”
However, he said, the agreement’s other aims, “to fulfil New Zealand’s employment and immigration requirements”, is not so straightforward.
“Just wages and fairness of protection regarding immigration are not guaranteed in this pact,” Fr Consedine said. “The low wages paid to most migrant workers, their lack of trade union protection, and the continued movement of workers between companies, can leave Filipino workers very vulnerable.
“Although strict compliance will keep them within the limits of the law, the Government’s recent labour law changes are not helpful to making this agreement work. The fact is that most qualified migrant tradespeople earn only $22–$30 an hour; much less than the average New Zealand-born worker doing the same job. This indicates how easily migrant labour can be exploited.”
Mr Woodhouse said that with the significant number of Filipino workers coming to New Zealand to help with the Canterbury rebuild, the Government wanted to ensure they were treated fairly and not exploited.
The arrangement improved the transparency of recruitment and ensured compliance with both countries’ employment and immigration requirements, he said.
The Immigration Amendment Act 2015 strengthened penalties for employers who exploited migrant workers, he said. In addition, there is additional protection for migrant workers here for the Canterbury rebuild; and many more labour inspectors and immigration compliance officers.
However, Fr Consedine said there is scope for much more improvement. Many migrant workers, he said, are still housed in crowded accommodation, paying high rents.
“For example, one house in Christchurch last year was charging $140 a bed for up to 12 workers, with the owner drawing $1720 per week from his old three bedroomed house. There are many similar examples. “Such houses are often owned by the building company employing the workers,” he said.