Teams from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) visited several Bay of Plenty towns last week as part of a targeted operation to ensure kiwifruit orchards are playing by the rules.
Over four days last week MBIE regulatory teams made unannounced site visits to check recordkeeping, minimum employment entitlements, lawful payroll deductions and compliance with immigration requirements, including work rights.
Site visits focused on labour hire practices, sub‑contracting arrangements and compliance with immigration requirements. Operation Indigo involved teams from the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand Compliance and Investigations.
Some workers were found working in roles for which they did not have visas.
Immigration Compliance National Manager and Horticulture Sector Lead Fadia Mudafar says collaboration and joint visits demonstrate how our regulatory agencies are working together on the ground.
“The aim of Operation Indigo is to identify, disrupt, and address offending with employment and immigration legislation, with a specific focus on employers identified as high-risk in the kiwifruit sector.
“The horticulture sector is a priority focus for this work given its scale and risks of employment and immigration non-compliance. We are taking an increasingly joined‑up approach as we strengthen our collective response to address serious economic harm, including harms arising within the horticulture sector.”
“Our aim is to identify practices in the kiwifruit industry that involve cynical, material, or systemic breaches which may result in harm to workers,” says Mudafar.
“These joint operations allow agencies to identify and address breaches across our respective areas in a coordinated way, creating a stronger deterrent and greater overall impact. While we will be supportive of employers who are making genuine efforts to comply, we will not hesitate to take action where there is clear and material non‑compliance.”
Mudafar says it was disappointing that the regulatory teams identified some workers employed in orchards despite their visas being granted for other roles.
“Follow-up investigative work is now underway, including requesting and auditing employment records to ensure the contractors are complying with employment standards and immigration obligations.”
Further information on the regulatory teams’ findings will be available once the information gathered has been fully assessed.
