International fast food chain Burger King has been hit with a year long-ban on getting new visas for migrant workers after underpaying its employees.
The Labour Inspectorate applied the ban after discovering that a salaried manager had been paid less than the minimum wage for a six-week period after working extra shifts.
“This is a large high profile corporation and shows that this is not just a problem for small restaurants and fruit pickers,” Unite Union national secretary Gerard Hehir.
“Migrant workers are the most vulnerable to exploitation because their visa conditions often tie them to one employer. They fear speaking out because if they lose their job, they lose the ability to work in New Zealand.”
Unite Union settled agreements with Burger King in order to ensure significant pay-rises and checks to ensure any extra work is both recorded and paid.
Hehir noted that if an employer is not able to guarantee workers the most basic minimum conditions allowed by law, it should not employ vulnerable workers.
Salaried staff are at a risk of being paid less per hour if overtime is not calculated into pay, which is compounded by the fact that salaried staff are often expected to turn up earlier and finish later than agreed work hours, according to Hehir.
“Employers need to record hours of work for all employees. It isn’t just migrant workers and employers – good old kiwi businesses will also be doing it to their kiwi workers,” Hehir said.
“It’s time to call it what it is: wage theft. It is a huge problem in New Zealand and around the world. In the US it is estimated that wage theft outstrips robbery, car theft, burglary and larceny combined.”
