Venkat Raman –
A Tauranga based fruit farm labour contractor is facing 32 charges brought against him by Immigration New Zealand at the Tauranga District Court.
Fifty-one-year old Jafar Kurisi, also known as Md Wagid Ali is alleged to have employed workers who were not lawfully entitled to work, paid below the minimum wage, and did not receive their holiday entitlement. He also faces charges relating to providing substandard accommodation and food to his workers.
The Court heard that six of the workers were Fijian nationals recruited in Fiji while four others were already in New Zealand on visitor visas and working unlawfully.
Kurisi faces 10 charges of aiding and abetting the 10 workers to breach the conditions of their visas, six charges of failing to pay the entitlements outlined in the Holidays Act 2003 and six charges of failing to pay the minimum wage. The maximum penalty for these offences is seven years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of $100,000.
He has also been charged with 10 counts of employing workers knowing that they were not entitled because of their immigration status to work. The maximum penalty for each of these offences is a fine of $50,000.
Kurisi has been remanded on bail until his next court appearance on June 19.
