Twenty-six Hanmer Springs hospitality and retail businesses have been inspected by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment officials after allegations of migrant worker exploitation.
The two-day joint-team operation at the end of last month was dubbed Operation Poplar, said Head of the Labour Inspectorate Simon Humphries.
The sting was launched to check if businesses in the area were complying with employment and immigration legislation. It followed allegations of exploitation of workers at some businesses in the town.
The operation, led by the Inspectorate, involved teams from Immigration New Zealand Compliance, Risk and Verification and Tenancy Services.
Humphries said the teams were still collating the data collected during the operation. But Labour inspectors had started comprehensive reviews of the employment records and minimum employment standards at eight hospitality and retail-related businesses and the investigations were ongoing.
“Apart from the businesses we specifically visited due to the complaints, the operation also presented an ideal opportunity for our inspectors to educate business owners in the town about their responsibilities and inform employees about their minimum employment standards entitlements.”
Immigration compliance teams supported the Labour Inspectorate with the operation and undertook a number of enquiries with employers, which are ongoing.
Humphries said the operation was carefully planned after the Inspectorate received complaints about "potential serious and systemic exploitation of migrant workers by several businesses in the Hanmer Springs district".
“Working closely with our colleagues from Immigration NZ Compliance, Risk and Verification and Tenancy Services we visited a total of 26 businesses over the two days the teams were in the area.
"The operation was a good example of MBIE’s use of an integrated approach to compliance and enforcement with the teams working closely together for a common goal."
Tenancy compliance and investigations
During the operation, the ministry's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) accompanied the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration NZ on three site visits to accommodation provided by the employers to their employees.
TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said the team also undertook a further site visit at a private rental property to follow up on concerns raised about that property during the operation.
“As a result of these visits, TCIT will be following up on a number of breaches that were identified and also provided on the spot education to the landlords about their responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act).”
