Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

$2 An Hour: Indian Hoteliers Face Jail Term For Underpaying Workers In New Zealand

The Canadian Press, 08 Sep, 2015 12:18 PM
    Two Indian-origin managers of New Zealand's popular Indian restaurant chain, Masala are facing up to seven years in jail or a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty to underpaying their workers, a media report said.
     
    Joti Jain and Rajwinder Singh Grewal jointly pleaded guilty to a total of 20 immigration and exploitation charges at the Auckland district court on Tuesday, the New Zealand Herald reported.
     
    Jain was the main target of a ministry of business innovation and employment sting, which until Tuesday did not reveal her identity and full facts of offences committed by her.
     
    Court documents revealed that Jain significantly underpaid four employees between 2009 and 2014 as she promised to help them obtain a visa.
     
    According to the New Zealand daily, Jain offered illegal immigrant Gagandeep Singh the position of assistant manager with the promise of paying him $15 an hour for his 30-40 hours of work. 
     
    Instead, he worked up to 11 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, and was paid $250 after a week of unpaid "training".
     
    Singh eventually quit the job after having effectively been paid $2.64 an hour during his tenure.
     
    Grewal, who managed the Bucklands Beach Masala, contacted Fijian national Bimal Roy Prasad in September 2014 in relation to a job opening for a chef.
     
    He took him to meet Jain and was instead asked to help in the kitchen. Prasad ended up receiving only $40 as his pay after working for more than nine weeks for the company.
     
    In more than one case, workers were told to submit timesheets indicating they were working about 30 hours a week, when in reality it was usually more than double that, the daily said.
     
    According to New Zealand's Employment Relations, the current adult minimum wage rates (before tax) that apply to employees aged 16 or over is $14.75 an hour. The minimum rates that apply to starting-out workers and employees on training is $11.80 an hour.
     
    "Employees have to be paid at least the minimum hourly wage rate for any extra time worked over eight hours a day or over 40 hours a week or 80 hours per fortnight," it said.
     
    Grewal and Jain will be sentenced next month.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Communities On Evacuation Alert Over Concerns About Washington State Blaze

    B.C. Communities On Evacuation Alert Over Concerns About Washington State Blaze
    GRAND FORKS, B.C. — Evacuation alerts have been issued in southeastern British Columbia over fears that so-called ember showers from a Washington state wildfire could ignite flames north of the border. 

    B.C. Communities On Evacuation Alert Over Concerns About Washington State Blaze

    Mohamed Fahmy Braces For Verdict In Cairo, Wants Nnightmare' To End

    A Cairo court is expected — once again — to deliver a verdict Saturday for the Canadian journalist on trial for widely denounced terror charges and Fahmy is cautiously optimistic.

    Mohamed Fahmy Braces For Verdict In Cairo, Wants Nnightmare' To End

    June Emails Urged Stephen Harper To Open MP Expenses To Auditor General

    OTTAWA — Emails sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June suggested that some Canadians didn't trust politicians to police their own spending and wanted the auditor general to look at their books.

    June Emails Urged Stephen Harper To Open MP Expenses To Auditor General

    Alaskans Warm Up To B.C. Mines Minister But Still Demand Concrete Assurances

    It was the first time residents spoke directly with Bennett and gave him a tour along the Taku River, which they worry could become contaminated by a mining accident.

    Alaskans Warm Up To B.C. Mines Minister But Still Demand Concrete Assurances

    Nova Scotia Judge Reserves Decision On Law Inspired By Rehtaeh Parsons

    Nova Scotia Judge Reserves Decision On Law Inspired By Rehtaeh Parsons
     A judge reserved his decision today on a case that challenges on constitutional grounds Nova Scotia's groundbreaking anti-cyberbullying law.

    Nova Scotia Judge Reserves Decision On Law Inspired By Rehtaeh Parsons

    Crown Witness At Beer Trial Says Sections Of Constitution Have Gone Dormant

    Crown Witness At Beer Trial Says Sections Of Constitution Have Gone Dormant
    Section 134 of the New Brunswick Liquor Control Act limits anyone from having more than 12 pints of beer not sold by a provincially licensed liquor outlet.

    Crown Witness At Beer Trial Says Sections Of Constitution Have Gone Dormant