Backpacker job probe welcomed

Canadian couple who worked eight hours a day erecting farm fences and a young Taiwanese woman who did pruning at a vineyard. ‘‘They didn’t give her gloves. Her hands were all blistered and cut, it wasn’t a good look.’’

Sometimes backpackers lacked transport and risked getting stuck on a property if they relied on the owner to take them to the nearest bus stop.

Constable said schemes such as HelpX and Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) were a great way for visitors to meet real Kiwis and most hosts were in it for the right reasons.

Youth Hostel Association (YHA) chief executive Mark Wells also welcomed the MBIE investigation and said he had raised the issue of unpaid labour at accom- modation forums over the years because it led to an ‘‘uneven playing field’’.

He said the hostels YHA managed occasionally used volunteers for special projects, such as spring cleaning, but they did not employ them in lieu of frontline staff.

However, there was heavy dependence on volunteer labour throughout the rest of the backpacker sector.

‘‘I suspect that it makes a pretty important contribution in the financial performance of smaller operators when they are not having to incur wages.’’

Labour Inspectorate southern regional manager Stuart Lumsden said the investigation, prompted by about 12 complaints, hinged on the definition of ‘‘employment’’ as opposed to voluntary work.

‘‘We will take this to the Employment Relations Authority and make sure their interpretation of employment is the same as ours, so there will be a test case.’’

WWOOF New Zealand director Andrew Strange said MBIE had approached him about four hosts it was concerned with, but none of them had ever been registered members of his organisation.

Strange said WWOOFers worked a maximum of six hours a day, received free accommodation and meals, and were treated as part of the family.

‘‘We agree that if there are hosts using volunteers to run their business and exploit them, this is not appropriate, and if they are WWOOF hosts we will address the situation,’’ he said.