It was ordered to repay the worker $8000 and put on a "stand-down" list preventing it from hiring migrant labour for six months.

The sad truth is that it's not an isolated instance of labour exploitation.

One of the most notorious cases hit headlines last year when Hastings-based Joseph Matamata was found guilty of 10 charges of people trafficking and 13 charges of dealing in slaves between 1994 and 2019.

The victims were forced to work on orchards and do other jobs but never paid for their labour.

The court found Matamata enslaved people through violence and intimidation. He kept their passports and restricted their movements.

It's among four trafficking prosecutions taken since 2009, involving a total of 51 victims.

"These numbers likely only reflect the tip of the iceberg," according to Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood.

In March, the minister released a five-year plan to combat modern slavery - the term coined to describe the rise of forced labour in today's economy.

The plan comes with a $50 million budget and a pledge to look at new laws. Harsher penalties for offenders are also in the pipeline. But there's pressure on the government to pick up the pace and introduce a Modern Slavery Act, following moves in other countries.

Global slave trade

More than 40 million people are estimated to be trapped in slavery, according to the Global Slavery Index 2018. Nearly two-thirds are in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mounting evidence of forced labour has led to renewed calls for companies to shoulder more responsibility for their supply chains and the people making their products.

In 2015, the UK introduced a Modern Slavery Act. It requires companies earning more than £36 million ($NZ70m) a year to report annually on the steps taken to ensure their products aren't produced by slave labour.

Three years later, Australia passed its own Modern Slavery Act. The law means companies earning more than $A100 million ($NZ107m) must publish "modern slavery statements" setting out what they're doing to address forced labour risks.

This law also applies to New Zealand companies that trade in Australia. To date, 23 New Zealand businesses - including Contact Energy and New Zealand Post - have published modern slavery statements.

Chapman Tripp partner Nicola Swan believes several hundred New Zealand businesses could be affected either being required to produce their own statements or to report on slave labour risks to Australian parent companies. Continue reading

This week the Australian Senate committee will hear evidence from industry and human rights bodies about the government's draft Modern Slavery Bill.

Despite media reports on the issue over the past year, the draft bill does not address a loophole that allows alleged criminal exploitation to continue within Canberra embassies, the Salvation Army says.

The Salvation Army's submission tells the Senate that over the past 11 years it had helped almost a dozen domestic workers kept in slave-like conditions by foreign diplomats in their Canberra homes.

In one case, a woman was told she would be paid A$2150 (NZ$2359) per month for 40 hours per week as a live-in housekeeper. Instead, she was kept as a virtual prisoner, forced to sign false documents and work seven days a week for minimal pay.

The Salvation Army submission, compiled last year for an earlier inquiry that led to the current bill, says workers had their identity documents confiscated and were subject to physical and sexual abuse, threats and intimidation.

At least four cases involved the relevant embassy's head of mission. This is the highest-ranking diplomatic post, with titles like ambassador, high commissioner, charge d'affaires and consul-general.

The Salvation Army said the Australian government was not doing enough to stop diplomats from criminally exploiting workers, who were kept in "degrading and humiliating conditions, including deprivation of food, privacy and appropriate living conditions."

Heather Moore, national policy and advocacy co-ordinator at the Salvation Army's Freedom Partnership, said human trafficking should be grounds for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to take decisive action against a diplomat.

"Human trafficking is a serious crime, and the government should be treating it with the appropriate severity," she said.

The Salvation Army submission argued that diplomatic immunity was "not iron-clad,"and notes the government could request the diplomat's home country to waive immunity (thus allowing them to be prosecuted under Australian law) or declare them persona non grata - meaning the diplomat "is no longer welcome in Australia."

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Alex Hawke said the Australian government had taken steps to address the exploitation of foreign domestic workers, distributing information leaflets and implementing a pre-departure interview for those planning to come to Australia.

He also said foreign domestic workers who were unfairly treated could access the Government's Support for Trafficked People Program, which enabled victims to remain lawfully in Australia and access support while their claims were being evaluated.

Source

• Stuff
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Pro Bono Australia