Filipino construction workers in New Zealand underpaid, prone to exploitation: study

by Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News, Aug 27, 2018

MANILA – Filipino construction workers in New Zealand receive relatively low salaries and face uncertain working hours, inadequate living conditions and expensive of the immigration process, a research found.

The study, commissioned by New Zealand trade union E Tū Union and funded by the Industrial Relations Fund, recorded experiences of mostly migrant workers from the Philippines in the cities of Christchurch and Auckland to find out what difficulties they encounter and what steps could be taken to improve their working conditions.

The report noted that the hourly pay rates of the workers interviewed “low,” with Auckland-based worker being paid only between $19 and $26.45 (around P742.27 to P1,033.04) an hour.

One interviewee was paid $28 (P1,093.79) an hour and a few were paid $27 (1,054.44) but most were paid “considerably less than that, despite many of them being extremely experienced,” it said.

“Not one of the Filipino construction workers interviewed for this research and who provided his hourly rate was paid as much as the $29.42 (P1,148.95) an hour recorded by Statistics NZ as being the average hourly pay rate in the construction industry for the first quarter of 2018,” the report said.

The study also found that deductions were made from some Filipino workers’ pay, and that some of these “appear to be illegal.”

They also “sometimes do not start work until after they have been in New Zealand for a month and might not be paid for a further month…irrespective of what their contracts state.”

“Some workers have very uncertain work hours, or very few hours. This is extremely stressful for them and their families. All of the workers spoken to, who did not have their families in New Zealand, sent money back to the Philippines to support their families there,” it said.

The workers were also prohibited from joining a union, with one company admitting that its employees were not even allowed to post pictures on Instagram.

IMMIGRATION FEES, DEBTS

Most of the interviewed Filipino workers also said they would like to bring their families to New Zealand and stay there permanently, but the expense of visa and permanent residence applications was a “major barrier.”

The report said many workers pay thousands of dollars in fees and to immigration advisers, but some respondents said their employers “did not want to assist them with placing their immigration status on a more secure footing.:

“They preferred them to be on one or three-year visas and to be in an uncertain position,” it said.

“The low hourly pay rates of many Filipino workers mean they cannot apply for permanent residence because they do not meet the income criterion introduced in recent years,” it added.

Many of these workers also come to New Zealand for jobs arranged by companies in the Philippines, and the study found that they arrive in the country with “high debt burdens.”

“They are susceptible to exploitation as they feel immediate pressure to earn money not only to support themselves in New Zealand and to send money to their families in the Philippines, but also to repay their debts,” it said.

DIRE LIVING CONDITIONS

Living arrangements were also cause for concern, with workers relying on housing provided by Pastoral Care companies.

Several Filipino workers would typically live in a single house and share rooms, said the report.

In one case, 3 workers in Auckland said they lived in a “sleepout” and paid $150 (P5,864.74) each a week. Ten more men lived inside and each paid $150 a week, the study said.

The report quoted an advocate working with the Filipino construction workers as saying 16 to 20 people were placed in a 4-bedroom house, each paying a flat-rate for a 2-person room.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The study recommended that a more thorough data collection be made regarding migrant pay scales as compared with what is received by New Zealand natives with the same years of experience and skills in their trades.

It also recommended that the government funds research on on experiences of migrant workers in dealing with visas and immigration, in particular the expense and cost of the immigration process.

The government should also communicate with future migrant workers the cost of permanent residency and the possibility of family re-unification, it said.

There should also be a strategy for quality, affordable housing for migrant workers and [ublicly-funded programs to provide practical information and assistance to migrants and their families to support settlement.

Published news articles quoted E Tū spokesperson Ron Angel as saying the findings were upsetting.

“For the first time, there is research which shows migrant workers who are Filipino being underpaid because they are Filipino and for no other reason,” he said.

“The angst they were going through, and the suffering on a daily basis, being away from their families and what got me was, here we were welcoming these people into New Zealand to help rebuild Canterbury and we didn’t look after them.”

“In fact, we made life terrible for them and I feel ashamed,” he added.

ABS-CBN News has reached out to Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Australia for reaction to this study, but is yet to receive a reply as of posting.

Based on the 2013 stock estimates of the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are about 34,150 overseas Filipinos in New Zealand. Of this number, 23,682 are permanent migrants, 9,444 are temporary workers, and 1,024 irregular workers.