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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - New Zealand (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the observations of Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) communicated with the Government’s report. It also notes the Government's responses to these observations.

Articles 2, 16, 17 and 18 of the Convention. Scope of application of labour inspection. Enforcement of the legal provisions relating to the conditions of work of migrant workers by labour inspectors. In response to its previous comment, the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that all persons working in New Zealand, irrespective of their immigration status, are covered by the protections afforded by occupational safety and health legislation. In this respect, it indicates that the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) applies to workers who are deployed to work in New Zealand under special purpose visa arrangements and therefore its provisions are enforceable by health and safety inspectors.

The Committee also notes the Government's indication that workers who enter New Zealand under a service contract negotiated between a New Zealand company and a foreign company or whose employment contracts are made outside New Zealand with a foreign employer, do not fall within the New Zealand employment relations framework and are therefore not subject to labour inspection oversight.

With regard to measures to ensure that workers deployed to work in New Zealand receive adequate pay and accommodation, the Government indicates that: (i) the requirements for granting of a “specific purpose or event work visa” provide that the pay or other financial arrangements made must adequately cover the worker’s accommodation and maintenance for the duration of their stay in New Zealand; (ii) before any visa is granted, the pay, accommodation and travel arrangements of these workers are assessed; and (iii) according to the Immigration Act 2009, immigration officers have the power to enforce these requirements in the event of any breaches. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of inspections carried out by WorkSafe NZ in relation to workers employed under special purpose visa arrangements and the outcome of those inspections, including violations found and sanctions imposed. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number and nature of any violations identified by immigration officers or other responsible government officials with respect to the adequacy of pay and accommodation arrangements for workers employed under special purpose visa arrangements.

Article 3(1)(b). Educational activities conducted by the labour inspectorate. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in the case of minor and easily remediable breaches, the Labour Inspectorate applies a guided self-resolution (GSR) approach to educate employers on how to comply with employment legislation and support them to achieve compliance. The Government indicates that GSR cases are a rapid and effective way to ensure that employers comply with employment legislation and workers receive their rights, without resorting to the judicial system, which can be lengthy and therefore delay redress for the workers involved. In this respect, it informs that in the period from 2020 to 2024, 2,148 GSR cases have been resolved.

The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the development of a program targeting the most vulnerable groups of workers, including young workers, migrant workers, Pasifika and Māori workers, as well as employers at higher risk of exploitative practices or non-compliance, or requiring additional support for capacity building, such as small businesses.

It further notes that the Government informs that the labour inspectorate has developed technical guidance in several languages that is available through the Employment New Zealand website, including guidance for payroll providers and for creators of employment agreements and workplace policies, to assist employers in correctly applying employment legislation. The Government indicates that an increasing number of people are seeking guidance from the labour inspectorate through the Employment New Zealand website. The Committee takes note of this information, which addresses its previous request.

Article 4. Coordination and cooperation among the different structures of labour inspection. In response to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government's indications that: (i) the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) established a joint tasking and coordination committee for the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand, to improve joint working on reports of migrant exploitation, with WorkSafe NZ participating where appropriate; (ii) the joint task and coordination committee has reduced the need for joint investigations, and has created a mechanism whereby referrals of any reports or information on potential occupational safety and health breaches are referred to WorkSafe, which then decides whether to investigate; and (iii) the Labour Inspectorate and WorkSafe will further enhance the exchange of information through a new Memorandum of Understanding. The Committee also notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government, there were five joint inspections between WorkSafe NZ and the Labour Inspectorate in 2020–21, 0 in 2021–22, 3 in 2022–23 and 7 in 2023–24. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to improve collaboration and cooperation between WorkSafe NZ and the Labour Inspectorate at the MBIE, including statistics on the joint inspections carried out, as well as information on the new Memorandum of Understanding envisaged to improve the exchange of information between these two agencies.

Articles 10 and 16. Number of labour inspectors. Inspection visits. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) in 2023, additional funding was provided to the Labour Inspectorate to support the increase in the number of labour inspectors; (ii) the Labour Inspectorate currently has 85 full-time labour inspectors, an increase from the 75 labour inspectors in 2021; (iii) the MBIE will continue to recruit labour inspectors as vacancies arise to maintain its number of full-time labour inspectors at current funding levels; and (iv) additional funding has also been allocated to the Labour Inspectorate to support the application of the 2021 programme to address and prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and the Holidays Act 2003 reforms.

With regard to the number of inspection visits carried out by labour inspectors, the Committee notes that, according to the information submitted by the Government, the Labour Inspectorate carried out 2,288 compliance and enforcement interventions in 2021–22, 3,172 in 2022–23, and 5,032 in 2023–24. The Committee also notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, there has been a decline in the number of inspections carried out by WorkSafe NZ, which went from 14,178 in 2020–21, to 12,011 in 2021–22, and 10,415 in 2022–23.

The Committee further notes that, in its observations, the NZCTU alleges that: (i) the inspectorates are under-resourced and understaffed and in need of more inspectors who can ensure compliance with employment legislation, especially with regard to the exploitation of migrant workers; and (ii) the underfunding of the labour inspectorate has resulted in unions and workers often having to take legal action regarding compliance with statutory minimums and that, as a result, unions and workers face the risks associated with expensive litigations. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to recruit additional inspectors at the MBIE. Noting the absence of information in this respect and with reference to its comments under the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of inspectors employed at WorkSafe NZ and the measures taken in order to strengthen the capacities of the agency. It also requests the Government to continue to provide statistics on the inspection visits conducted by these labour inspection authorities.

Articles 17 and 18. Effective enforcement of legal provisions. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government on the number of enforcement actions addressing violations detected and the amounts of penalties awarded under the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) and the HSWA. However, it notes that the Government did not provide information on the amounts of fines collected under these two legal instruments.

In relation to the ERA, the Committee notes that the amounts of penalties awarded annually have decreased significantly since 2020, from 63,849,375 New Zealand dollars (approx. US$38,146,809) in 2020–21 to 3,711,791 New Zealand dollars (approx. US$2,217,609) in 2021–22 and 5,449,807 New Zealand dollars (approx. US$3,255,987) in 2022–23. With regard to the HSWA, it also notes a substantial reduction in enforcement measures from 10,848 in 2020–21 to 4,148 in 2021–2022, as well as in the amounts of fines imposed from 6,403,625 New Zealand dollars (approx. US$3,825,845) in 2021 to 4,985,610 New Zealand dollars (approx. US$2,978,652) in 2022.

The Committee further notes that the Government indicates that: (i) in order to achieve more rapid payment of penalties, fines and the redress of wage arrears, the labour inspectorate has increasingly taken direct enforcement actions that do not rely on the judicial system due to the length of time the judicial process can take; (ii) where recourse is made to the judicial system, a range of approaches are now used to more rapidly remediate arrears, for example, settlement agreements; and (iii) the labour inspectorate has taken a number of measures to ensure payment of penalties by employers at the end of the judicial process, including applying to the courts for attachment orders, the use of district courts, bailiffs, seeking liquidation of companies and the use of personal liability, which can be apportioned by the courts to ensure that, where employers seek to avoid liability for penalties or compensation for wage arrears, liability can be attached to natural persons, such as directors. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the number of violations detected and the amounts of fines imposed, as well as the amounts collected under the ERA and the HSWA.It also requests the Government to provide statistical information with respect to alternative methods of securing payments of penalties, fines and wage arrears referred to above.

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and content of the annual report on the work of the labour inspectorate. The Committee takes note of the 2022–23 and 2023–24 annual reports of the Labour Inspectorate published on the Employment New Zealand website, which contain information on the subjects listed under Article 21(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e).

It also notes the 2022–23 annual report of WorkSafe NZ published on its official website, which includes information on all subjects listed under Article 21 except for information on the staff of WorkSafe NZ. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the annual reports of the authorities responsible for labour inspection are published and communicated to the ILO, containing information on all the subjects listed in Article 21(a)–(g) of the Convention.