Pinoy NZ Life Dec 18
www.pinoynzlife.nz (South Island, New Zealand's own Filipino newspaper since 2014). We also publish www.filipinonews.nz (New Zealand wide circulation since 2000). email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz or txt/mobile: 027 495 8477
www.pinoynzlife.nz (South Island, New Zealand's own Filipino newspaper since 2014). We also publish www.filipinonews.nz (New Zealand wide circulation since 2000). email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz or txt/mobile: 027 495 8477
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WORKERS’ RIGHTS Vol 2 No 2 | www.pinoynzlife.nz FB: <strong>Pinoy</strong> <strong>NZ</strong> <strong>Life</strong> | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.filipinonews.nz 03<br />
www.migrantnews.nz : New Zealand’s first Migrant newspaper. Published since 1991.<br />
Shocking scale of<br />
Filipino migrant<br />
exploitation:<br />
new report<br />
By LOUIE ENCABO, Contributing Editor<br />
Last May, Newshub<br />
reporter Michael Morrah<br />
exposed the story of 16<br />
Filipino migrant construction<br />
workers who were<br />
made to sign illegal employment<br />
contracts and were<br />
kept in “prison-like” accommodation<br />
to help with the<br />
Auckland construction<br />
boom.<br />
The revelation evoked<br />
feelings of outrage from the<br />
wider community, but little<br />
did we know that the case<br />
was merely the tip of the iceberg.<br />
Fast forward three months<br />
later and a more comprehensive<br />
picture was produced by<br />
lawyer Catriona Mac-<br />
Lennan, which showed the<br />
shocking extent of the<br />
exploitation of Filipino<br />
migrant workers in the construction<br />
industry.<br />
In a report for trade union<br />
organization E tu, the problem<br />
was shown not merely<br />
as a series of isolated cases<br />
but as part of a normalized<br />
culture of deceit that was<br />
tantamount to slavery.<br />
Titled, 'Migrant Filipino<br />
Workers in the Construction<br />
Industry', the report –<br />
which was funded by the<br />
New Zealand Industrial<br />
Relations Foundation of the<br />
Ministry of Business,<br />
(above:) A handbook for<br />
migrant workers in <strong>NZ</strong> -<br />
produced by the First Union<br />
and its affiliates.<br />
Innovation and Employment<br />
(MBIE) – showed<br />
how Filipino migrant workers<br />
were being paid less than<br />
their Kiwi counterparts, their<br />
wages were being deducted<br />
significantly for basic services<br />
such as the use of a<br />
vehicle to go to work and<br />
how they were also being<br />
crammed into overcrowded<br />
accommodation which they<br />
were billed unfair amounts<br />
for.<br />
According to Statistics<br />
<strong>NZ</strong>, the average pay for<br />
male construction workers<br />
for the first quarter of 20<strong>18</strong><br />
was $29.42 per hour.<br />
The report, which used 42<br />
different responses from<br />
Filipino workers surveyed in<br />
both Auckland and Christchurch,<br />
did not find a single<br />
Filipino construction worker<br />
who earned that much. This<br />
despite the fact that many of<br />
these workers have years of<br />
experience working in the<br />
industry in numerous countries<br />
aside from the Philippines<br />
and New Zealand.<br />
Brief outline of the<br />
report’s findings.<br />
Out of the responses, one<br />
worker was paid $28 an hour<br />
and a handful were being<br />
Winston Lobaton (above) spoke with FMN’s Aisha Ronquillo<br />
about abuse and exploitation in the contruction industry :<br />
www.filipinonews.nz Photo credit: Aisha Ronquillo.<br />
paid $27 an hour. The vast<br />
majority of them were paid a<br />
lot less, with some receiving<br />
a rate as low as $19 despite<br />
being on the job for more<br />
than a year.<br />
For many of these workers,<br />
this poses an even bigger<br />
problem since they<br />
aspire to permanently reside<br />
in New Zealand with their<br />
families. However, the minimum<br />
salary threshold for the<br />
skilled migrant category was<br />
pegged at $23.49 per hour as<br />
of 2017.<br />
This means that despite<br />
their hard work and sacrifice,<br />
many of the workers<br />
surveyed are not even eligible<br />
for permanent residence<br />
in the country.<br />
The low pay<br />
also complicates<br />
other<br />
problems<br />
these workers<br />
have. To find<br />
work in New<br />
Zealand they<br />
often have to<br />
pay labourhire<br />
agencies<br />
exuberant fees<br />
to do so.<br />
The high<br />
cost leads<br />
them to borrow<br />
money<br />
from different sources in the<br />
Philippines and they arrive<br />
in this country with significant<br />
levels of debt already.<br />
These migrants also have<br />
to support the financial<br />
needs of their families left<br />
back home. With low pay<br />
these Filipino workers face a<br />
triple jeopardy scenario –<br />
having to repay their debts,<br />
continued on page 4