New arrivals deserve a fair chance
We often fail in our treatment of new Kiwis.
Ihave a confession: I grew up in a household that had not one, but two microfiche readers. My mother was a genealogist, and she would spend hours poring over our family history. She would rope me into her searches, and I remember on one occasion, that search went global.
I was working in the UK when my boss decided to send me to Denmark. My mum was hugely excited by this prospect: ‘‘While you’re there you can look up some family history records for me’’ I remember her saying. It wasn’t immediately clear to me what family connection I had to Denmark, and then I remembered. I’m not just Irish, I’m not just Scottish, I am Danish too. My great great grandfather was an Andresen and he migrated from the only place he had ever known when he was just 17. His parents had died, or so the story goes, and with no family left he packed his bags and moved to New Zealand. In reality, we suspect he was dirt poor, and looking for something better. My great great grandfather could not have had an easy time when he arrived. Legend has it that what appeared to be a young orphaned man from the other side of the world was almost adopted by local families. He was cared for, looked after, found a community, and by the time he became a cook on ships, he could speak fluent Maori.
Like so many in New Zealand, my family were migrants. You would think that would have left us with a culture of building a system that made sure that those who do come here to offer their skills to New Zealand, were well looked after. That they were coming to a country where we could meet their expectations of housing, work, and decent education. But we’re not doing that. Instead, we have a system that is exploiting far too many migrants. This week Auckland University released a report showing migrant workers were being paid less than minimum wage, or working extra hours for no wages at all. Some were subjected to debt bondage, meaning they paid for the right to have their job and their own money was paid back to them in wages.
Others reported having their passports confiscated, being degraded, and threatened with deportation if they reported what was happening to them. We need to be absolutely clear – this is not happening in every sector, and many of our migrants have a wonderful working experience. But we cannot turn a blind eye to those who don’t, unless we, too, want to be complicit in what is happening. The answers to this issue don’t have to be complicated. It’s no secret that the areas of work where most of the current exploitation is happening is horticulture, dairy, fishing, construction and hospitality. If we continue to seek a migrant workforce for low skilled work then we are creating a vulnerable work force where wages will continue to be compressed. That isn’t good for anyone.
Secondly, we need to protect our migrant work force. That means properly resourcing the labour inspectorate to do its job. I have had a migrant worker walk through my office door and tell me the most horrific story of working in retail for hours that would make your eyes water, and wages that wouldn’t have been enough to put a roof over his head. He was absolutely terrified, and the idea that he himself would be able to report what was happening to him just wasn’t realistic. We are the ones who need to be proactive, a point my colleague Iain Lees-Galloway made to the Minister in Parliament this week. Every migrant worker who packs their life into a bag and wants to come to New Zealand, build a life here and contribute to our economy deserves to know that they will have a decent shot at that. That means only seeking their skills and expertise where they are genuinely needed, and where we know they will have a decent life, not setting them up to fail or abusing them for a quick buck. We have a lot of work to do.