Dileepa Fonseka: New immigration reset is ‘leading to exploitation’

The immigration reset has turned out quite differently to what Stuart Nash pitched it as back in 2021. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION

Migrant workers are being exploited because the new immigration work permit system leaves approvals in the hands of employers, writes Dileepa Fonseka at BusinessDesk.

Despite warnings from industry insiders and the Migrant Workers Association, cases are emerging of workers paying $30,000 in their own country only to find they had no job when they arrived, he says.

Others are being dismissed after their 90-day notice period.

Says Fonseka: “You might wonder how an accredited employer scheme could be worse for migrant exploitation than one without accreditation, the answer lies in the detail of the scheme.

”For starters, accreditations are almost automatically granted to anyone who applies – sometimes they are granted in as short a time as 90 minutes.

”The larger problem is the scheme is ‘employer-led’ and effectively ties employees to their employer.”

Read the full column here.