A New Zealand Employment Court ruling that migrant workers can challenge fees they paid abroad to secure jobs is being welcomed as a milestone in their legal protection, RNZ reports. The judgment, issued on 8 October, involved a now-defunct kiwifruit company in the Bay of Plenty that the business ministry accused of taking payments from incoming workers in exchange for positions.
The court found such payments breach the Wages Protection Act, overturning a 2003 decision. South Auckland employment lawyer Lisa Meto Fox said unscrupulous operators had been charging up to NZ$60,000 per worker and that the ruling closed a loophole they had exploited. She said the law should go further and stop workers under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme from having to pay for flights, visas, vaccines and insurance, costs she said should fall on employers.
Source: RNZ