Tauranga man charged with migrant worker exploitation in the kiwifruit industry

Thursday, 8 October 2020

The kiwifruit industry is vowing to investigate any fresh reports of worker exploitation in the sector.

A Tauranga man has been charged with worker exploitation in the kiwifruit industry.

Jafar Kurisi has been charged under the Immigration Act with exploitation of an employee. The charges relate to allegations between October 1 last year and June 30. The charges carry a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.

Investigations into worker exploitation in the kiwifruit industry are continuing and more charges are possible, immigration authorities say.

RNZ’s podcast The Detail looks at the issues as the fruit picking industry desperately needs more workers than ever before.

* 'This just cannot happen': $9.5 billion at risk as horticulture sector struggles to fill $25-an-hour jobs

The comment followed Kurisi’s court appearance this week.

The case follows a string of past complaints about mistreatment of migrant workers by horticultural and other employers.

Immigration New Zealand, police and the Labour Inspectorate said they launched a joint investigation in July after kiwifruit exporter Zespri alerted officials to allegations that two contracting companies were exploiting migrant workers.

Immigration NZ general manager of verification and compliance Stephen Vaughan said information from different sources, including a comprehensive file from the kiwifruit industry, allowed it to build a picture of alleged worker exploitation by contractors in the Bay of Plenty.

Zespr chief executive Dan Mathieson says the industry has taken action to hold its employers to account.

“Exploitation of vulnerable migrants will not be tolerated in New Zealand, and we are fortunate to be working closely with the kiwifruit industry to ensure temporary workers are treated with respect and have the same employment conditions that all workers in New Zealand are entitled to.”

Kurisi was previously sentenced in 2017 on charges linked to a human trafficking case.

He was found guilty of charges relating to 13 workers who were not entitled to work in New Zealand. He was ordered to pay $55,000 and sentenced to 12 months of home detention.

His co-accused in that case, Faroz Ali, was the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced for human trafficking.

Ali was convicted on charges relating to trafficking of Fijians to New Zealand, and aiding and abetting people to enter or remain in the country unlawfully.

He had pleaded guilty earlier to charges of exploitation, and aiding and abetting visa breaches, and was sentenced to nine years and six months in jail.

In that case, the exploited workers worked for a gib-fixing business, or on a Tauranga fruit farm, earning poor or no wages, and being given substandard food and accommodation.

Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson said the kiwifruit industry was committed to ensuring it was free from exploitation.

“While the vast majority of employers in the kiwifruit industry care for their people, a small minority fail to do so.

‘’That is unacceptable, and we are committed to holding them to account and to the continued development of robust compliance frameworks to help us do so.’’

Mathieson said the industry would be vigilant, vetting contractors before they were allowed to work in the industry, conducting regular audits, and committing to investigating concerns and taking action against rogue employers.

He said that after New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated was alerted to concerns about the treatment of a group of migrant workers, the group took part in a ‘’thorough’’ investigation and passed the information to Immigration NZ.

Mathieson said the workers involved were being supported by the industry, including being provided with temporary employment with local orchards.