Photo: RNZ
The number of companies being investigated for people trafficking in New Zealand has skyrocketed by almost 4000 percent.
The figures, released by Immigration New Zealand under the Official Information Act, show there were only six cases from 2018 to 2020, but there were 236 cases in the two years up to last October.
The rise in trafficking investigations coincided with the introduction of the accredited employer work, which has seen some overseas brokers collaborate with businesses here to convince migrants to pay for jobs - some of which were bogus.
The last trafficking prosecution was five years ago. An anti-trafficking advocate said people were starting to lose faith in the system, and wonder if the problem was being swept under the carpet.
Workers First Union general secretary Dennis Maga said the number of cases being investigated was the tip of the iceberg, as many migrants were too scared to report the abuse. About 30 Filipino migrants were trafficked at the end of last year and some received death threats.
Government prosecutors seemed reticent to pursue trafficking cases, he said, instead charging people with lesser offences of migrant exploitation or providing unauthorised immigration advice.
"Every time we pursue a human trafficking. In New Zealand, it's really hard to establish that. I think the government prosecutor has a high threshold. For human trafficking, there should be a form of coercion - abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, asking for payments. And if we believe that there were some elements of it, sometimes it's so hard to convince the prosecutor to pursue that case. They should be allowed to elevate the case and follow human trafficking cases against those who are employers.
"We would like actually to have a discussion with the government why they couldn't prosecute these individuals despite high [levels] of human trafficking and complaints against these rogue employers.
"There is now the perception in the community that the New Zealand government is not elevating these cases to human trafficking because it could affect the reputation of New Zealand, that there is human trafficking happening in in in New Zealand. It could affect New Zealand's trade value as well. Rather than addressing and accepting that it's happening in the country."
Community advocates who had brought cases to the government were baffled as to why they did not meet the threshold for trafficking.
"If ever you look at the website at deception, an employer asks for money, being actually coerced to work, basically, they've been misled. And I think it affects the integrity of the government. If there's a low prosecution, do you think people will be motivated to come forward? I think the perception out there right now is that it's going to be a waste of time.
"People will remain vigilant, but they're going to be using media to expose those individuals rather than going to the right channel and complain."
The Labour Inspectorate (LI) said In 2023/24, MBIE received 8027 complaints or reports relating to employment issues, including 3925 complaints for Migrant Exploitation.
"Within the Labour Inspectorate we have a dedicated Migrant Exploitation team which focuses on the more egregious and more serious end of the complaints we receive," said LI head of compliance and enforcement Simon Humphries.
There were 85 warranted inspectors, compared to 49 full-time equivalents, in 2017.
One trafficking case was prosecuted in 2020 - Hastings-based Samoan chief Joseph Auga Matamata was sentenced to 11 years in prison for bringing 13 Samoans to New Zealand and exploiting them over 25 years - but none since then.
The 2024 US trafficking in persons report for New Zealand noted the lack of prosecutions. "Immigration New Zealand's (INZ) serious offences unit investigated trafficking cases that involved immigration violations; however, according to some observers INZ has been reluctant to pursue trafficking charges and the agency did not consistently coordinate with prosecutors before deciding to pursue charges. LI and INZ reportedly did not always respond to or investigate complaints made by exploited migrant workers."
It said people from Asia, the Pacific, North Africa, and some Latin American countries were vulnerable to forced labour in New Zealand's agricultural, dairy, construction, horticulture, viticulture, fishing, food service, liquor retail, technology, hospitality, transport, and domestic service sectors.
"Unregulated and unlicensed immigration brokers operating in New Zealand and source countries, particularly in Bangladesh, India, the People's Republic of China, and the Philippines, facilitate trafficking by assisting in the process to issue visas to victims," it said.
"The Labour Inspectorate investigated forced labour complaints but worked mainly within the civil legal system, which may have contributed to the lack of criminal prosecution of forced labour crimes as authorities did not refer cases for criminal investigations."
While some of the cases may have indicators of trafficking present, not all cases will reach the appropriate threshold for prosecutions, INZ General Manager Immigration Compliance and Investigations Steve Watson said.
"MBIE's Labour Inspectorate handles civil cases involving forced labour, but once it reaches the criminal threshold it is transferred to either NZ Police (for domestic offences) or Immigration New Zealand (cross-border offending)," he said, in a written statement. "Forced labour is when a person is forced or coerced to undertake work, or is made to work against their will, often under threats of punishment. This includes unlawful or illegal work."
Since 2015, there had been four trafficking in persons prosecutions, and the conviction of two offenders.
"We need the help of community organisations and the public to eliminate people trafficking. Immigration New Zealand cannot, and does not, do this alone."
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