Bad Employment Practises Expose Wine Industry - CTU

“Employers in viticulture need to be careful not to put the reputation of a major export industry at risk through shoddy employment practises,” CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

“The CTU supports the Department of Labour investigations into the case of several migrant workers in Blenheim vineyards, including eight Thai workers whose work permits have been revoked after they spoke out about their employer’s work practises.”

The workers say they were oversold the benefits before they left their home countries, and have not received expected wages and basic employment rights since they have been here.

“These workers’ stories are not unfamiliar, and we have seen previous problems in fishing and horticulture recently.”

“Rogue employers can use migrant labour to undermine the terms and conditions of workers in a broader industry, taking advantage of their vulnerability and lack of collective organisation.”

“The CTU supports the new Recognised Seasonal Employer policy as an attempt to lift the bar on employment practises in seasonal work, and for a greater government role in intervention and enforcement when things go wrong with more people on the ground in areas like Marlborough.”

“This change of focus is also important in helping to lift standards and wages in seasonal work to make it a more attractive and realistic option for New Zealand workers, to reduce the need for temporary migrants.”

“Temporary migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation by employers. Often they have limited knowledge of their rights, sometimes find it difficult to communicate and feel their ability to speak up is constrained because they perceive that their immigration status is precarious.”

“These workers must have their rights upheld.  Unions are organising migrant workers to address this, and greater enforcement needs to remain a key priority in immigration policy,” Carol Beaumont said.