More sanctions for exploiting employers

The Herald reports:

Employers who exploit migrant workers will be banned from taking on further migrant workers for up to two years under new sanctions from April.

Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse announced the new measures this morning, saying allowing bosses to take on workers from overseas rather than locally was a “privilege not a right” and if that was abused, there should be consequences.

“It is simply unacceptable that those employers who exploit migrant workers are still able to recruit from the international labour market and disadvantage those employers who do the right thing.”

This is a good move.

I’d go further. Many of employers who exploit migrants are themselves migrants. If they do not hold NZ citizenship, I’d have them near automatically lose their residency status and face deportation.