Mikee Santos, Union Network of Migrants coordinator, has welcomed the Human Rights Commission’s review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme and provided the following comments:

"The review has highlighted our long-standing concerns with the AEWV and elevated the discussion of migrant exploitation to a level that reminds this Government of their obligations under local human rights laws as well as the international laws, conventions and treaties that New Zealand is a part of," said Mr Santos.

"The review has confirmed that the AEWV scheme is failing, especially in the tying of work visas to single employers - this is what advocates call a bondage visa."

"The review highlighted the core issue that the AEWV remains tied to a single employer, creating a massive power imbalance and putting the migrant worker at a significant disadvantage."

"The AEWV scheme requires more teeth in terms of accountability, as rogue employers are unafraid of the repercussions, and more robust consultation and a closer working relationship with stakeholders like unions and migrant advocates."

"Since 2017, UNEMIG and others have proposed a better accreditation scheme to stop or at least minimise migrant exploitation, because the current standard is not fit for purpose and is leaving more migrants in debt and more lives ruined."

"The AEWV scheme is predicated heavily on an employer’s "good faith" through a trust model, and sadly many employers do not act in good faith, or any faith at all."

"It’s clear that Immigration New Zealand needs to think like a bad guy, because they are always being outsmarted and outmaneuvered by the actual bad guys - we need to be proactive rather than reactive."

"The receivership case at ELE last December 2023 - which caused almost 500 migrant workers on a visa to lose their job in an instant - exposed the AEWV and its supposed safety nets. It showed us that migrant workers do not have any protections when bound to a single employer, and they immediately end up in hardship and poverty if the employer collapses."

"Recently, there has been a significant spike in cases of migrant workers being exploited under labour hire arrangements. The labour hire companies’ business model is a ‘race to the bottom’, and bondage visas are tightly managed to ensure the cheapest possible wages and debt-laden workers. Labour hire companies offer fewer guaranteed hours, and struggle to provide a decent and liveable income to migrant workers."

"Some of these operators of labour hire companies deserve to be stripped of their accreditation, investigated, and if necessary, be put behind bars - it’s modern slavery, and it’s enabled by the bondage visas that give the companies unmitigated power over migrant workers."

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