A group of South American migrants spoke out recently about allegedly misleading job contracts they signed with the Auckland construction company Buildhub as part of New Zealand's Accredited Employers Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.
On Voices, Kadambari Gladding sits down for an exclusive interview with Buildhub's commercial administrator Ricardo Corona-Perez, and also speaks to some of the complainants.
A man holding a ballpoint pen to fill a work visa application form to New Zealand. Photo: 123RF
People from Chile, Peru and Colombia who signed contracts with Buildhub in their home countries tell Voices that they were not given the jobs or number of work hours the company promised.
Several people from the group of families say they are desperate and struggling to make ends meet in Auckland. Many are living off favours and borrowed money to support themselves and their families, and their hopes of a new life in New Zealand have been completely shattered.
Some of the migrants have now been given the Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV) based on their reports of being exploited by Buildhub. The MEPV gives them a period of six months to remain in New Zealand while their claims are being investigated.
Buildhub defends its position, saying it has complied with Immigration New Zealand's contractual terms and rules.
According to Ricardo Corona-Perez, 92% of its recruits have work and only 8% are not working – because they either resigned or were dismissed.
The Accredited Employers Work Visa is now being reviewed by Immigration New Zealand.
According to licensed immigration advisor Paul Janssen, while the visa is a smart idea, there hasn't been the due diligence required to ensure it is a robust scheme.
He says it will be tricky to discern between complainants who may be taking advantage of the system and those who may have been genuinely ripped off by accredited employers.
With several claims of immigrant worker exploitation coming to light in the past month, "this is not the image we want to put out", he says.
