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The Immigration Minister has launched an inquiry into claims horticulture workers have been lured from Thailand with false promises and exploited in Marlborough vineyards.
A group of eight Thai nationals told the Christchurch Press they had paid up to $14,000 to recruitment agents in Thailand promising lucrative work in the horticulture industry in New Zealand.
Instead, members worked 60 to 70-hour, seven-day weeks and public holidays without proper recompense, were bullied by supervisors, and ordered to work in other regions, without negotiation.
The Thai workers, who entered the country legally, have complained to the Labour Department about being ripped off by recruitment agents and employers, paid below the minimum wage on occasions, and threatened with being sent home.
Their temporary work permits have been revoked by the Immigration Service after a fallout with their employer, horticultural contractor Havenleigh Global Services Ltd, and they face being deported.
A Labour Department inspector found his investigation into wage issues seriously hampered by Havenleigh's lack of records.
The company claimed its computer hard-drive had crashed, destroying all historic time records.
The inspector has recommended the dispute go to mediation.
Immigration Minister David Cunliffe stepped in yesterday, launching a full inquiry into the allegations.
He said employers had clear legal obligations towards their foreign seasonal workers.
"I have a zero-tolerance policy towards worker abuse and any form of malpractice or corruption," Mr Cunliffe said.
"At the same time, it is important that the full facts of any case are known before conclusions are drawn."
A married Thai couple, Surachet Kannika and Orasa Khambut, said they paid $10,000 each to a Thai recruitment agency for an offer of work in New Zealand, flights and expenses.
They borrowed the money -- enough to buy a house in Thailand -- having been told they could earn $5000 a month between them in this country.
However, when they began pruning for Havenleigh, in Seddon last year, they were taking home about $200 a week each, after tax and rent of $96 each was deducted.
- NZPA
