Illegal workers facing deportation say they weren't given chance to contact lawyers

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

Ten Chinese nationals are facing deportation after being found working in breach of their visa conditions on construction sites in Auckland. (File photo)

Ten men served deportation notices after being found working in New Zealand illegally say they had no proper opportunity to access legal assistance after being detained.

Meanwhile, a lawyer now working on their case after being contacted by a union says they “meet all the definitions of being exploited”.

The Chinese nationals were taken into custody after an Immigration New Zealand compliance operation at an Auckland construction site on March 23.

Nine are now being held at Mt Eden Prison under warrants of commitment, while one is being held in police custody, as they await deportation.

* Illegal construction workers not a sign of 'industry-wide exploitation'

* Unions call for residency for migrant workers

The workers have been issued deportation orders, but dates have been postponed due to new Chinese government rules that deportees must serve two weeks in isolation before boarding flights back to China.

Workers who Stuff spoke to at the prison on Sunday said they had no employment agreements and no holiday pay.

They said they were paid in cash, with hourly rates ranging from $20 to $26. One worker said he earned just $8-$10 per an hour.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi talks to Radio Tarana's Sanjesh Narain about visa extension priorities during Covid-19. (Published on September 24)

According to the workers, they had paid between $10,000 and $30,000 each through a Chinese agent to obtain visitors’ visas.

The workers had been in New Zealand for periods ranging from 17 months to three years and four months. They had used online forums and WeChat groups to find casual work on construction sites.

On the day of the raid, they were working at different sites in Auckland, they said.

Mike Treen, National Director of Unite Union, is calling for Immigration New Zealand to release the workers as authorities investigate the case.

The workers said despite being told of their right to seek legal assistance, they had their phones taken away.

The workers said they were not given a list of lawyers to contact and had also not been given a chance to speak to their families since being taken into custody.

Auckland barrister Matt Robson said the Bill of Rights Act had been breached. (File photo)

However, Immigration NZ said in a statement that all the workers “have been advised of their rights to legal representation while in INZ’s care, both when they were detained and again when they were transferred into Police custody”.

Immigration NZ did not answer Stuff’s questions as to why workers were not given a list of lawyers they could contact.

It said all the workers had access to a duty lawyer and interpreter at the warrant of commitment hearing.

Unite Union national director Mike Treen said Immigration NZ needs to investigate whether the workers were subject to exploitation, and they need to stay in New Zealand for further interviews.

“Immigration NZ is trying to deport these people before they’ve had an opportunity to get [legal] presentation,” he said.

“Now that this is being delayed because the Chinese government is demanding that they be held for two weeks somewhere before they get put on flights home, then they shouldn’t be kept in prison for these two weeks, it’s just wrong.”

Treen has enlisted Auckland barrister Matt Robson, who said Immigration NZ is not following its policy around worker exploitation.

“Government policy is where workers are exploited, and these workers meet all the definitions of being exploited – they had no employment contracts, they didn’t have wage and time records, they had employers who knew they were on visitors’ visas – Immigration NZ has government policy which says if you come forward, we will not just deport you, we will look at your rights, we will probably give you another visa.”

The workers were entitled to legal representation under the Bill of Rights Act, he said.

Robson has written to the Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi and the Associate Minister of Immigration Phil Twyford to call for the immediate release of the nine workers into the care of Unite Union.

Robson has also asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta to work with the Chinese government to investigate whether the workers were victims of human trafficking.

Immigration NZ said investigations around the workers’ employment are ongoing.

It did not comment on whether workers would be allowed to stay to assist with the investigations.