A Bay of Plenty horticulture employer and its former director have been ordered to pay a combined $400,000 for the exploitation of migrant workers.
It comes after an investigation found that Indo Kiwi Horticulture Limited and its sole director, Boota Singh Dhillon, had underpaid workers, made them pay unlawful premiums, and denied them minimum employment entitlements.
The company, which supplied workers to kiwifruit orchards in the Bay of Plenty, was first investigated by the Labour Inspectorate in July 2024 following a complaint.
It found that four Indian nationals employed on employer-specific visas were being underpaid, with wages and holiday pay withheld – giving the company an "unfair advantage" over its competitors.
The probe also found three of the workers had paid premiums totalling more than $65,000, with some of the payments ending up in bank accounts linked to Dhillon's family members in India.
Dhillon sold the company in October 2024. It is no longer operating.
The Employment Relations Authority ordered Indo Kiwi Horticulture Limited to pay $176,000 in penalties and repay more than $152,000 in wage and holiday pay arrears, as well as unlawful premiums, to the workers.
Dhillon was fined a further $88,000 in penalties.
The four workers will each receive $33,000, with the remainder to be paid to the Crown.
"There was an inherent power imbalance in the employer/employee relationship, which was amplified by the fact the complainants were relying on the support of their employer in respect of their immigration status," ERA member Jeremy Lynch said.
“Throughout the course of their employment, the complainants were on employer-specific work visas, to work only for Indo Kiwi. In the circumstances of this matter, this can only have increased the complainants’ vulnerability.”
Labour Inspectorate migrant exploitation manager Natalie Gardiner said the "law is clear" when it came to employment premiums.
Employers cannot demand or receive payments from workers in exchange for employment. Exploiting workers for financial gain is unacceptable.
“The penalties ordered against both Indo Kiwi Horticulture Limited and Boota Singh Dhillon, together with the substantial payments directed to the affected workers, send a strong message about the seriousness of migrant exploitation and the importance of compliance with employment standards.”
Earlier this month, Inland Revenue issued a warning to the horticulture sector over tax practices it said were widespread in the industry and posing a "significant risk" to the integrity of the tax system.
In the year to June 30, the department had opened around 130 investigations into businesses in the sector, identifying $7.2 million in discrepancies.
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