NEW ZEALAND FOREIGN STUDENTS SAY IT IS NOT WORTH TO TAKE EDUCATION LOAN AND COME TO THIS COUNTRY BETTER GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AS THERE IS NOTHING HERE WITH MANY MIGRANT STUDENTS EXISTING IN INVISIBLE ECONOMY OF CASH PAYMENTS HOPELESS WORKING CONDITIONS MOUNTING BILLS LOANS AND FEAR OF IMMIGRATIONS CLOCKING HOURS FOR EMPLOYERS TO SURVIVE WEEK TO WEEK KINDLY READ THE REAL STORIES OF FOREIGN STUDENTS FACING THIS (NAMES HAVE CHANGED) July 18.2013 Go to another country,” says Lakshmi Narayan. “There is nothing here. It’s not worth the effort, getting an education loan to come to New Zealand. You’re led to believe this is a great country, where they want you because you’re skilled and your skills will be valued. There is only exploitation here.” Narayan’s experience in New Zealand resonates with many migrant students existing in an invisible economy of cash payments and abysmal working conditions. Unaware of their rights, pressure of mounting bills, loans and fear of immigration authorities, they’re forever on a treadmill; clocking hours for employers to survive, week to week. Wispy dark hair frames her round face. On a cold evening in Auckland, she has just returned from one of the multiple jobs she holds down to make ends meet and she is firm: she is no victim. She wants to speak-up because she ‘got out’. “This one is not a cash job”, she grins, dark rimmed eyes crinkling-up. Unblemished nut-brown skin, belies her 30 something years. She moved to Auckland in search of job about 18 months back. “One day, I had 5 dollars in my pocket, and it was either a calling card to call back home or buying food. I had to take up the cash job offer,” she remembers. Caught in this vortex of vulnerability and insecurity; many feel they have no other option. “Because,” she says, “there are no jobs.” She is not off the mark because employers are reluctant to take on new staff as there is no demand for goods and services produced by Auckland as per a recent report by Auckland Council’s chief economist Geoff Cooper. The quarterly update on the health of the city states that in Auckland alone, unemployment stands at 7.3 per cent, ahead of 6.1 per cent elsewhere. Youth unemployment is the worse in Auckland. A couple of years back; Narayan used to work in a call center in Delhi, was making good money and had a decent life, one where she says she could ‘breathe’. And now she says, here she is miles away from home, crammed into an apartment with 5 others, separated from her husband for months, because she has to make-up the sunk cost. “As if that’s not enough, our own people exploit us,” she says. This thought is echoed by Danaë Anderson, Researcher, at AUT University, who closely studied the health, safety and human rights implications for student migrant labourers in NZ. “Unfortunately this type of situation is not uncommon within migrant communities. There has clearly been an increase in the numbers of migrants working in low-waged jobs in the New Zealand labour market and communities have a shared responsibility alongside regulation to work on stamping out these illegal practices. By ignoring these issues the Indian community is gaining a reputation as exploitative and illegitimate employers.” Professor Anderson explains that this cannot be simply interpreted as a response to a ‘labour shortage’, lax immigration controls or migrants’ superior ‘work ethic’. “Not all managers seek to exploit workers but many see it as a way to keep costs down,” she says. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data shows that between July 2012 and 31 January 2013 the labour inspectorate received 429 complaints which had a minimum wage component, all of which were investigated. Of those 97 (23%) were from migrant workers. “Many of the serious cases appear to be where new migrants are employed by other migrants, probably due to the networks and opportunities and their knowledge of NZ systems and processes, or where the work is on a casual basis. MBIE is committed to treating migrants fairly. If migrants work with Immigration New Zealand and MBIE’s Labour Inspectorate to investigate serious cases of exploitation, they may be eligible to remain in New Zealand while their complaint is looked at and resolved,” assures Justin Strang, Acting General Manager, Labour Inspectorate, MBIE. (Some names have been changed)
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 12:49:21 +0000