By Gurbir Singh, Hamilton (New Zealand), Oct 12, 2017:
An Indian student, Manjinder Singh, 23, has staked his claim of $80,000 in ‘unpaid wages’ from his former liquor store employer in Auckland, New Zealand.
Manjinder who hails from Kalanaur, Gurdaspur district of Punjab, has alleged that his employer, Ravinder Arora, Director, Nikhil Himalaya Parkland Ltd (trading as 'Bottle-O') has 'exploited' him by making him work long hours but payed him only for half the work he did. The company owns and operates over 20 liquor stores across New Zealand,including five in Auckland itself.
In his support, a small group of protesters from the Unite Union gathered outside the shop in Pt Chevalier, Auckland where Manjinder earlier worked.
In the telephonic interview with this journalist today, Manjinder narrated how he worked for at least 60 hours a week for nearly three years but was paid only for half the hours he worked.
Manjinder said, “I came to New Zealand in February 2014 on a student visa to study business, and while studying, I started working part-time at this liquor store. For the first two months even though I worked full-time hours, I was not paid anything as the employer said, it was a trial period and you don’t get paid.”
“In September last year (2016) when I received my work visa, I was given a full-time contract of 30 hours at an hourly rate of $17. But I was made to work over 60 hours per week, but received wages for only 30 hours - $432.51 a week after tax.
Manjinder finally left the job about six weeks ago after his request for leave for a trip to India was declined. “I couldn’t continue suffering and exploitation,” and claims to be now suffering from anxiety and depression.
“For all the hours that I worked, my average wage comes to just $7 per hour, whereas the minimum wage today is $ 15.75. So, I have been out of pocket by nearly $100,000 for the three years that I have worked for this owner.”
During this interview, Manjinder alleged that in one of the meetings, director of the company, Arora “agreed” to pay him $80,000, but has now “backed out”.
The Labour Department today reportedly confirmed they are investigating..
On behalf of the owner, his brother, Kamal Deep, however, has denied all charges of under/non- payment of wages, and described these as “baseless”.
"Everything was perfectly paid every week. He is up to date with his wages.
"If you are not happy with your job, how long will you wait? Why would anyone work for $7? Why did he work for three years if he was not happy with this? He is lying to get the money," Deep remarked.
At this stage, it is one’s word against the other and Deep asserts that they are ready to fight it out in court if it comes to that.
No doubt, such cases are actually going to make it more difficult for international students to obtain work as most of them depend upon Indian employers who would tread cautiously now.
When this journalist sought comments from a couple of other Indian employers on this issue, they were first tight-lipped. But on condition of anonymity, one of them said that at times employers are wrongly blamed.
Talking about Indian students in general, he said, some of them were actually thankless. They are given work when they need it most, but recent changes in immigration rules have made them jittery, as most won’t qualify for residency. So, some of them file false complaints against employers to gain sympathy of the authorities and hope that this will give them a chance to stay on in New Zealand, he remarked.
This is not the first case of alleged exploitation of migrant workers or international students that has surfaced. The government has already cracked down on migrant labour exploitation and heavy penalties are imposed on employers, if proved.
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Gurbir Singh is a New Zealand-based freelance Feature Writer & Journalist. You can email him at: gurbir@journalist.com, and like him on Facebook.