Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - New Zealand (Ratification: 1950)

The Committee takes note of the observations of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and Business New Zealand (BusinessNZ) communicated with the Government’s report, as well as the Government’s reply thereto.

Article 1 of the Convention. National polices relating to emigration and immigration. The Committee takes note of the indication by the Government in its report on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), that the New Zealand Migrant Settlement Integration Strategy is undergoing refresh to ensure that migrants continue to be supported, including with regard to equal opportunity and treatment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in the context of the review of the New Zealand Migrant Settlement Integration Strategy as well as information on the evaluation of this measures and their impact.

Articles 2, 3 and 7. Adequate and free service to assist migrants for employment with accurate information. The Government indicates that: (1) material for prospective migrant workers on working and living conditions in New Zealand is available on Immigration New Zealand (INZ) websites; (2) Employment New Zealand has been working with community organizations, unions, migrant networks, businesses and industry membership organizations to build awareness and encourage usage of their free online learning employment module for workers “An Introduction to Your Employment Rights”, which was translated into six languages; (3) it has made available an online interactive tool – NZ Ready – designated to assist migrant workers to plan their move to New Zealand; (4) it provides a personalized list of helpful information on a variety of topics such as employment law, cost of living, finding accommodation. All the information is integrated into the new INZ website; (5) the Employment New Zealand’s website was also revised to include more information on migrant workers with particular focus on information about migrant worker exploitation, minimum employment rights, how to get help and how to make a complaint. This information is available in 13 languages, with a translation service available in over 180 languages; (6) Employment New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand have delivered joint webinars, in-person seminars, workshops and meetings to build awareness and understanding among migrant workers, community groups, employers and industry membership organizations; and (7). welcome emails are also sent along with approved visas with links to useful information about living and working in New Zealand, particularly around workers’ rights and obligations. Targeted emails are sent to visa holders employed in the dairy, construction and aged care sectors. In its observations, BusinessNZ notes that overseas agencies are unlawfully promising employment to prospective migrants and extracting considerable amounts of money from them, and that migrant workers arrive in New Zealand to find that their anticipated jobs do not exist or do not match the conditions expected despite regulations in place to prevent these situations. The Committee takes note of the measures taken to ensure information accessibility for migrants. It asks the Government to provide information about the measures taken to combat misleading information on immigration in cooperation with countries of origin.

Article 6. Equal treatment legislation. The Government indicates that: (1) in August 2020, it announced a coordinated package of legislative, policy and operational changes, to reduce migrant exploitation in New Zealand; (2) the changes were accompanied by NZD$50 million in funding over four years (2020–24), to help ensure that government agencies are better resourced to respond to reports of exploitation. Regarding legislative changes, the Government refers to the entry into force in January 2024 of the Workers Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act of 2023, that: (1) introduces three new infringement offences for employers who exploit their migrant workforce; (2) creates a document production power to verify that employers are meeting their commitment; (3) allows publication of information about employers who have exploited migrant workers; (4) allows labour inspectors and immigration officers to issue an infringement notice where employers fail to provide documents within a reasonable timeframe; and (5) disqualifies people convicted of migrant exploitation or people trafficking from managing or directing a company. In 2021, the new Exploitative Conditions Reporting Tool and the Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (authorizing migrants in exploitative situation to remain in New Zealand) were introduced. The Committee notes that the Government indicated in its report under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) that, in the 12 months to April 2023, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has triaged 694 cases of migrant exploitation received and INZ has granted 136 Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visas. Additionally, the Government established new liaison advisors to provide support and connect migrants who had suffered exploitation to government and community support services, dependent on their needs. The Government also launched the Accredited Employer Work Visa, which is the main temporary work visa issued for a maximum of five years.

The Committee notes that in its observations, BusinessNZ indicates that: (1) pertinent legislation already existed and the new act duplicates the functional roles of the labour inspectorate and INZ without sufficient assurance of resourcing and consistency; and (2) the new act also introduces strict time limits for providing information to the labour inspectorate and expands the power to issue fines for low level infringements without providing for the issuance of improvement notices provided for under the Employment Relations Act of 2000. In its observations, NZCTU stresses that: (1) the labour inspectorate needs to be adequately resourced to identify and prosecute breaches of employment law for migrant workers; and (2) immigration officials and labour inspectors should establish closer working relationships with trade unions and migrant advocacy organizations to better facilitate and respond to complaints of exploitation. The Committee takes note of the Government response that steps have been taken to increase the capacity of the labour inspectorate and INZ, which includes an increase in the number of labour inspectors from 49,2 full time employees (FTE) in April 2017 to 75,85 FTE in April 2023. In this regard, the Committee further notes the statistics provided which show an increase in the number of complaints filed, from 130 (in 2018–19) to 859 in (2021–22), and that for 2021–22: 490 of the 850 complaints were closed in assessment. Regarding awareness raising measures, the Government reports that: (1) a two-phase campaign was run over 2021–22 to promote a helpline and web form reporting, focusing on Pasifika, Chinese, Indian and Filipino communities living in New Zealand; (2) a pilot awareness campaign was also run in 2022–23 using Google ads focusing on workers from five targeted industry sectors.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s efforts to raise awareness among migrant workers of existing complaint mechanisms and facilitate their access to legal assistance; as well as to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate to monitor the conditions of work, in particular at workplaces with a majority of migrant workers. The Committee asks the Government to provide, if possible disaggregated by sex, statistics on the number and type of violations detected or complaints received by the labour inspectorate and any decisions handed down by the courts involving violations of the Human Rights Act of 1993, the Employment Relations Act of 2000, and the Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act of 2023, as well as sanctions imposed, and remedies provided.

Social security of seasonal workers. In regard to its previous comments, the Government reports that the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) policy review had been postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis and took place over 2022–23, beginning with a consultation in the latter half of 2022 of a reference group comprising industry representatives, unions and Pacific governments tasked with testing policy options, followed by a formal consultation on developed proposals. The Committee asks the Government to provide an update on this process and other efforts to allow workers to maintain social security rights in their country of origin and ensure access to pensions and reduced costs of remittances.

Conditions of workin the horticulture, viticulture, food, and hospitality industries. In response to the Committee’s request for information on efforts to improve the working conditions of migrant workers in the sectors mentioned above, particularly regarding unpaid wages, and for detailed and up-to-date sex-disaggregated statistics, the Government outlines several measures adopted. These include inter alia providing both migrant workers and employers with accurate information about working and living conditions, as well as employment rights, primarily through the INZ websites, as described above under Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Convention. The Government also notes that the MBIE produces tri-annual statistics on migrant employment, which show data disaggregated by region, visa type, and industry, though not yet by sex. Additionally, it highlights that, following the adoption of the coordinated package of legislative, policy, and operational changes aimed at reducing migrant exploitation in New Zealand – including the passage of the Workers’ Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act of 2023 – the MBIE has conducted an evaluation of this data. The Committee further notes BusinessNZ’s observations that, in many cases, exploitation begins in migrants’ countries of origin, with unscrupulous recruitment agents. In response, the Government reports that INZ has developed informational materials designed to prevent exploitation during the pre-migration process, which will be promoted in offshore markets. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on its efforts to improve the working conditions of migrant workers in the specific sectors mentioned above. With regard to statistics, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the MBIE has conducted a review of the statistics collected on migrant worker exploitation and to share those findings, along with any measures adopted based on the data. Please indicate if steps are being considered to develop statistics on migrant employment disaggregated by sex.

Migrant students involved in the labour market. The Government indicates that it reviewed its policies regarding foreign students, including an increase of the living costs requirements, to reduce the risks of education being used as a pathway to residence for lower-skilled migrant workers at risk of exploitation. The Committee takes note of this information.