New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has identified eight illegal kiwifruit workers in the northern Bay of Plenty region and action is being taken against 18 contractors, according to Nzherald.co.nz. 

The workers were discovered during a week-long operation checking immigration and employment laws in May, when the ministry's labor inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) inspected 35 kiwifruit contractor sites.

The story quoted labor inspectorate general manager George Mason as saying the ministry had issued 22 improvement notices for a total of 39 minimum employment standard breaches while INZ identified the illegal workers.

Mason also reportedly said that through visiting a combination of fields, homes, offices and packhouses, MBIE found more than half of the contractors were in breach of their legal requirements.

The story alleged the visits followed an operation last November that identified a Bay of Plenty contractor in serious breach of employment laws.

According to Nzherald.co.nz, Mason said that as a result of the operation, MBIE decided to launch a broad audit program of the sector, initially focusing on the 2014 harvest.

He reportedly added that the level of non-compliance identified during the operation was disappointing - especially in the lack of acceptable time records, which are a key focus for the labor inspectorate.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI)president Neil Trebilco is reported to have said he was aware of the investigation and described the fact that 18 contractors had contravened labor laws as 'disappointing'.

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