Indian Newslink 15th May 2018 Digital Edition

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MAY 15, 2018 04 Homelink Worker exploitation rampant in New Zealand Modern Slavery is becoming a menace Tod Cooper Our politicians and law makers need to accelerate the introduction of a Modern Slavery Act to establish clearer compliance expectations, tighter regulations and higher pecuniary consequences for individuals and businesses who support Modern Slavery. The UK example A good example is the UK’s Modern Slavery Act. All companies with a UK footprint and an annual turnover of more than £36 million are required to produce annual reports outlining what they are doing to identify and tackle modern slavery in their supply chains. Forms of Exploitation What forms does exploitation take? Dr Christina Stringer from the University of Auckland Business School in her report, ‘Worker Exploitation In New Zealand: A Troubling Landscape’ defines exploitation to include (a) Excessive working hours sometimes without breaks (b) No pay or severe under-payment with examples of migrants earning as little as $4-$5 an hour (c) No holiday pay (d) No employment contracts (c) Taxes deducted but not paid to the Inland Revenue (d) Degrading treatment: being sworn at or insulted, denied bathroom breaks, verbal or physical abuse and threatened abuse, restriction of movement; and (f) Cash-for-residency schemes, in which workers paid cash to their employers. Confiscation of Passports Add confiscation of an individual’s passport to this list. A passport is the property of the government that issued it, not the holder. Only an official can confiscate it, and only for justified reasons. While employers may reasonably request to hold a passport as a condition of employment, they must return it upon request. Susceptible Industries According to Dr Stringer, industries most impacted by exploitation tend to be labour intensive, many of which fall within our own primary sector. Below are the more impacted sectors with an example of reported exploitation of some workers in each: Construction: Not helped by events such as the Canterbury earthquake and housing shortages. Canterbury rebuild workers report debt bondage to pay exorbitant recruitment fees of around $10,000 each. Dairy: Workers described abuse, poor working conditions, lack of pay, and poor and inhumane treatment of animals. Fishing: Fishing has a global reputation for human rights abuses, with crews working excessive hours under harsh treatment and abhorrent conditions. Horticulture: Workers routinely receive less than the minimum wage; some as little as $5 an hour. Employers threaten to report workers to Immigration New Zealand if they complained. Hospitality: Workers paid for far fewer hours than worked, some not paid at all during their trial period. International Education: Students working well over the hours allowed under their visas while promised that a student VISA is a fast track to New Zealand Sex work: Temporary migrants hired to provide cosmetic services and therapeutic massages coerced to provide sexual services. Modern slavery and worker exploitation is rampant in New Zealand. Our laws are not sufficient and financial penalties are negligible. It is time to take action through stricter laws and improved enforcement. Tod Cooper is General Manager, MDA Corporation, an Information and Technology Services Company based in Wellington. He is a Member with delegated authority for Procurement/ Online Training/ Whistleblowing. You can write to him at tod.cooper@tinz.org.nz The above article is from ‘May Transparency Times’ of Transparency International New Zealand. (Picture Courtesy: cips.org) Special baggage allowance offer from Singapore Airlines Simon Turcotte (Picture Supplied) Singapore Airlines is providing customers travelling to any of the 11 destinations in India on the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir network with the opportunity to increase their baggage allowance by more than 50%. Customers who make an Economy Class booking before May 14, 2018 for travel from New Zealand to India will receive a special baggage allowance of 46 kgs per person, which is an increase of more than 50% on the standard 30 kgs baggage allowance! Common request Singapore Airlines General Manager New Zealand Simon Turcotte said that requests for extra baggage are the most common received from customers travelling to India. “Our customers travelling to India are constantly seeking to increase their checked baggage allowance, so it is very pleasing to be able to provide this special offer, which I am sure will prove very popular,” Mr Turcotte said. “New Zealand has a large Indian community who regularly travel back to India to see family and friends, so hopefully this offer will help to make their next trip just that little bit easier and less stressful, particularly when their packing their bags,” he added. To take advantage of this offer, customers need to ensure their ticket has been issued by May 14, 2018, to book your next trip visit singaporeair.com or talk to your local travel agent. Singapore Airlines is the Sponsor of the ‘Business Excellence in Innovation’ category of the Eleventh Annual Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards 2018. We help you find the sweetest mortgage deal whether it’s your first home or investment property, and arrange the best insurance to suit your needs. Venu Mortgage Adviser 021 030 2409 venu@squirrel.co.nz Sunil Mortgage Adviser 027 533 7745 sunil@squirrel.co.nz Bahadur Insurance Adviser 027 530 9399 bahadur@squirrel.co.nz Vikram Mortgage Adviser 027 397 0776 vikram@squirrel.co.nz Farea Mortgage Adviser 027 534 9394 farea@squirrel.co.nz $ Mortgage Services Risk Insurances Home loans Investment property loans Renovation & construction Refinancing Fasttrack Repayment Plan (restructure) Top ups & consolidation of debts Commercial property loans Business loans Life, Trauma TPD, Income Protection Mortgage Repayment Redundancy New to Business & Business Continuity Covers Key Person Cover Medical/Health Call us today 0800 21 22 23 Level 1, 3/53 Cavendish Drive Manukau New Zealand
MAY 15, 2018 Sir Anand Satyanand appointed to IACC Council Sourced Content Former Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand has been appointed to the International Anti- Corruption Conference (IACC) Council for a six-year term. His appointment signals a significant advancement of the role of the Pacific and New Zealand within the international anti-corruption community. Sir Anand is a former Patron of Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) and currently a member of the Transparency International global Advisory Council. He served as New Zealand’s 19th Governor- General between 2006 and 2011. About IACC The IACC is a 30-year-old unincorporated, not-for-profit organisation formed to promote and deliver biennial Conferences in many parts of the world. Its main work is to select venue countries and approve Conference themes and programmes with the objective to bring together people from governments, civil society, the private sec- Sir Anand Satyanand tor and other interested parties to tackle the increasingly sophisticated challenges posed by corruption. The IACC has a close association with Transparency International (TI), the latter providing the secretary and legal entity for IACC and its Council. The Council develops a formal relationship with each Conference host country, typically the head institution or ministry in charge of anti-corruption. Conference in Denmark The Danish Government, represented by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is hosting the 18th Conference in Copenhagen from October 22 to 24, 2018. Transparency Denmark has an IACC supporting role. This year’s Conference theme is “Together for Development Peace and Security: Now is the Time to Act.” More than 1,000 participants are expected from as many as 135 countries. The agenda provides a global forum for networking and cross-fertilisation of ideas for effective advocacy and action on both global and national scales. Proposals for the design of each of the proposed 35 innovation and workshop sessions were submitted between February 15 and April 15, 2018. Sir Anand is one of eight members of the IACC Council currently Chaired by Huguette Labelle, former Chair of TI and senior official in many Canadian government organisations. Source: Transparency Times (May 2018), Wellington Indian Newslink conducts the Indian Newslink Sir Anand Satyanand Lecture every year. The Eight Annual Lecture will be held on Monday, July 9, 2018 at Pullman Hotel, Auckland. Sir Stephen Tindall (Founder of The Warehouse Group and Chairman of Team New Zealand that would defend ‘America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021). Further details will be published on our web editions and in the next print edition. Homelink 05 NEW ZEALAND’S LARGEST FISHING SUPERMARKET 17–20 MAY 2018 Admission $20 Kids 16 & Under FREE ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland 10am – 6pm Daily, Late Night Friday (9pm) WIN! SOMEONE MUST WIN THIS SURTEES/YAMAHA BOAT PACKAGE worth $200,000 PLUS! TWO $2000 VIKING KAYAKS WILL BE WON EACH DAY FREE FISHING ADVICE LEARN FROM THE VERY BEST in Top Catch Master Classes IN-hp www.boatshow.co.nz news
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Page 9 and 10: MAY 15, 2018 139th Girmit Anniversa
Page 11 and 12: MAY 15, 2018 GST on overseas online
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Page 27 and 28: MAY 15, 2018 All Whites setfor four

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