This report outlines what is known about the extent to which international students are working in non-compliant employment, possible reasons why that is occurring and a summary of the steps being taken to address it.
Non-compliant employment in relation to international students is defined as employment where minimum employment standards are not applied or which exceed the terms of a student's visa.
Based on a recent survey, it is estimated that around nine out of ten international students who reported working for pay in the past 12 months, were being paid at or above the minimum wage (at that time $13.50 an hour)1. This means that nearly one in ten (9.5 per cent) of those respondents2 were being paid below the minimum wage (the rate for New Zealand wage earners is 4.3 per cent3). The percentage of those who reported being paid less than the minimum wage was highest for English language students (27 per cent), noting however that only a small number of such students participated in the survey, and this estimate could be unreliable as a result.
Caution needs to be applied when considering these findings, and they should be viewed as being indicative only. In addition to the low overall response rate, a quarter of participants did not respond to the questions on work. Those who did not respond are excluded from the tables, and their characteristics are assumed to be the same as those who did respond.
Factors that put some international students at risk of non-compliant employment include:
- financial pressures, which can arise from higher than expected living costs, loan repayment obligations and lack of access to funds for living costs
- lack of awareness of employment rights
- reluctance to report exploitation, especially if they fear immigration consequences for themselves, and
- the industries/sectors that many international students work in, such as the retail, hospitality and agriculture/horticulture sectors, which are the most common industries for all labour inspector investigations.
Recent measures to crack down on exploitation of migrant workers will benefit international students. These measures include:
- changes to immigration instructions made on 10 June 2013, which mean victims of exploitation will not be disadvantaged with regard to their immigration status if they make a complaint against an employer, and
- the introduction of the Immigration Amendment Bill (No 2), which includes provisions to:
- extend the scope of section 351 of the Immigration Act 2009 to make exploitation of lawful temporary migrants (including international students) an offence
- make employers who exploit migrant workers (including international students), or knowingly employ migrant workers without work rights, liable for deportation if the offence was committed within the first 10 years of their being granted a residence visa, and
- extend the powers available to immigration officers to enter and search employers’ premises and talk to people present to identify offending by employers.
These measures will:
- send a clear deterrence message to employers who seek to take advantage of vulnerable migrant employees and ensure that those who exploit migrant workers are held to account
- support businesses that comply with minimum employment standards against the potentially anti-competitive practices of those businesses that do not, and
- protect New Zealand’s international reputation as a place, not only where international students gain a high quality education, but where those who work are treated fairly by their employers and minimum terms and conditions are met.
Further interventions to mitigate migrant vulnerability (including that of international students), and reduce exploitation or adverse effects, may be identified through further research being undertaken by the Ministry.