Exploited restaurant worker paid $50k

An Auckland restaurant and its owners have been ordered by the Employment Relations Authority to pay nearly $50,000 in penalties and unpaid wage arrears to a migrant worker. Dansan Investments Limited, which operates as Saaj Indian Cuisine, and its directors, Mary George Varghese and Sheik Abdul Kader, are liable for this sum. Following a Labour Inspectorate investigation, the court heard how the worker was told to make a $6000 premium payment to the employers to secure an application for her work visa. The employment agreement showed that the worker would work a minimum of 35 hours a week, and although she worked between 40 and 651⁄ hours a week, she was only paid for

2 between 28 and 33 hours a week.