Dealership cops $170k penalty
An Upper Hutt used-car dealership has been sentenced for exploiting underpaid migrant workers who were housed in unsafe conditions and pressured to keep working in breach of visa rules.
Autopride Cars Limited was fined $100,000, ordered to pay reparation totalling $70,654.06 to the workers and had its employer accreditation revoked during a hearing at Hutt Valley District Court.
The sentence means the business cannot employ migrants under the accredited employer work visa in the future, says Immigration New Zealand.
Autopride Cars was convicted in May in relation to two charges of exploiting temporary or unlawful workers after its treatment of two migrants during 2023.
The victims arrived in New Zealand on visitor visas and were later recruited by the company. Both were made to work long hours for cash pay without employment agreements, tax registration, or basic worker protections.
Immigration NZ notes each migrant worked at least six days a week, typically for about nine hours a day, and were paid $100 cash per day – an effective hourly rate of about $11, well below the minimum wage at the time.
Pay was also irregular and had to be repeatedly requested so the workers could afford food and personal items.
Company managers repeatedly promised to arrange work visas, asked the workers to provide documents, and assured them applications were underway.
However, no visas were ever lodged or processed and the workers were pressured to continue working despite their unlawful status.
Jason Perry, Immigration NZ’s national manager investigations, says: “The investigation found that the workers’ immigration status was used to control them and keep them silent.
“One worker was instructed to hide from Immigration NZ officers during a compliance visit and pressured not to speak to authorities.
“The other felt unable to leave their job because of pressure from management and concern for a family member who also worked for the company.”
Both workers eventually left the business after Immigration NZ intervention, citing ongoing exploitation and fear for their safety.
“This case shows how migrant exploitation works in real life, with people being kept quiet through fear and pressure” adds Perry.
“Exploiting migrants is not ‘doing business’. It is criminal behaviour and we will pursue it to hold those responsible to account.
“Employer accreditation is a privilege, not a right. Employers who abuse the system should expect significant consequences.
‘It is a reminder that employers must meet the standards expected of those entrusted to hire migrant workers.”
Perry asks members of the public who see migrants living or working in unsafe or inadequate conditions, being underpaid, or being intimidated by an employer to speak up.
He says reporting concerns can help officials protect vulnerable workers and take action against those who abuse the system.
