Call for poor Cooks employers to be publicly listed.
A Cook Islands human rights advocacy group is calling for collaboration with government departments to tackle abuse of foreign workers.
Transcript
A Cook Islands human rights advocacy group is calling for collaboration with government departments to tackle abuse of foreign workers.
Employees have complained they are being forced to surrender their passports, work 14 hour days, or told visiting their home country would jeopardise future employment.
A spokesperson for the human rights advocacy group, Punanga Tauturu, Nga Teinangaro, told Daniela Maoate-Cox the workers did not know where to go for help and a public record of poor employers should be set up.
NGA TEINANGARO: Some of them are in a vulnerable position where they have no other choice and not knowing their rights or where they can go or who to go to.
DANIELA MAOATE-COX: How will a record of employers who are treating their employees poorly help solve this issue?
NT: The record will be with the labour division, because what we do, is when we receive cases like that we refer them to the division and ministry of internal affairs.
DM-C: So what will this record actually be?
NT: I know it will be the employers names and who is inflicting the abuse.
DM-C: But this record, will it be a new record that will be set up as a data base with information coming in from Punanga Tauturu, and from the labour division of internal affairs to immigration or will it be information you already have that you will send to the labour division and they will then use it as they see fit?
NT: It's information I have I send it to them, we have our own database.
DM-C: And do you want immigration to set up a database as well or do they already have a record and you would share?
NT: I've actually had some meetings and spoke to immigration with some of the cases I've gone through, and getting their support and having immigration and the labour division working together with us has proven to be quite effective in making sure that things that are required of clients who come to us is done effectively and it has been quite successful.
DM-C: It can be difficult to get employees to lay a formal complaint. Do you have any ideas on how to approach that issue?
NT: Well, one of the clients we had was going to go to the media and do it.
DM-C: One of the clients was going to go the media?
NT: Yes so we had the client's consent where we were going to do it on their behalf.
DM-C: Are the people that are laying complaints aware of the options available to them? Do they know they can go to government departments and lay complaints?
NT: The one I received didn't know where to go. So when we receive such cases as that, we actually advise and guide them through the whole process, and where to go to ensure they are strong enough to go through this, because some are quite scared to go forward.
DM-C: So what would you like a record to achieve? Would you like it initiate regular checks on employers?
NT: I think it could do that, but our main awareness [focus] is for people out there in the community, foreigners who are working here to know where to go to.
DM-C: Would it be a public list that potential employees can look at?
NT: Yes.
DM-C: And from there they would be able to pick a suitable employer.
NT: Yes, that's right.
Nga Teinaganaro says eventually she would like a database set up between Punanga Tauturu, the labour division, and immigration to share information.
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