Up to 500 migrant workers brought into Auckland could be living in overcrowded houses, a union says.
Photo: RNZ
First Union general secretary Dennis Maga said a lot went unreported, but an estimated 200 to 500 migrants were living in substandard pastoral care arrangements - mostly overcrowded houses.
Allied Work Force (AWF) recently brought Filipino construction workers into the country, and subcontracted their living arrangements to an independent company.
Mr Maga said at one point 24 people were housed in a four-bedroom two-bathroom house.
"Some of the builders and carpenters are confused saying 'why do they need to hide every time there's an inspection when we are paying our rent on a weekly basis'."
However, AWF chief executive Simon Bennett said this was not true, and the claim had not been substantiated.
"The person who raised that with me said I can't show you that now because it's all sorted out. Certainly we don't put people in overcrowded housing, we have no incentive to do so."
Auckland Council said the property was overcrowded, after it received complaints from neighbours and investigated.
Compliance manager Steve Pearce said more than 10 people were there when they visited, however there were indications more lived there.
"Regardless of the exact number it was determined they clearly had more than five people living there - which would class the property as a boarding house," he said.
"In order to legally operate as a boarding house, properties have to meet certain requirements, and it was clear this property did not meet those requirements."
The owners of the property had since addressed the issue and the house now had fewer than five people living in it, so no longer had to meet boarding house requirements, Mr Pearce said.
Immigration lawyer Aaron Martin said Immigration New Zealand could take action against employers, if pastoral care was a term of the worker's contract.
"If an obligation has been given by an employer to provide pastoral care then in those circumstances Immigration NZ has the capacity to take action against the employer," he said.
"This could be in terms of a fine, but also the ability for this company to not be able to get any further work visas issued to them."
He said it depended on what was actually being contracted out, and if there was a pastoral care obligation imposed on the company.
"It's not the case [to provide pastoral care] with every employer."
A nation-wide issue
Dennis Maga said the problem with substandard pastoral care was widespread because the sector was unregulated.
"They're just individuals who see the opportunity to rent some space out. So imagine that, you've got people in a four or five bedroom house and you're charging $190 a week. That's easy money."
He said he was getting phone calls reporting similar conditions from around the country.
"I think this is a scam, and it's something we would like the government to investigate."
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said it would be investigated.