October 2014 Vol 7 Issue 10
“Most people would say that fine dining is dead, but I don’t think so …” Celebrity chef Josh Emmet (see page 4)
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4 Nelson College Takes Title 6 BCS Foodpak Solutions 8 Triple Win for Jet Park 9 Bacon of the Year 12 Sharing Food Knowledge
INDUSTRY UNDER SCRUTINY OVER MIGRANT EXPLOITATION The foodservice industry has found itself under scrutiny recently, as one of the sectors being investigated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for exploitation of migrant workers. Headlines have appeared in several national media channels and Restaurant Association president, Mike Egan, has featured on Radio New Zealand to provide the industry’s viewpoint on the matter. THE allegations arose after three Nelson men found themselves facing the first ever people-trafficking charges to be laid in New Zealand. “Subsequently there have been claims of some cases whereby migrant workers in restaurants are forced to work long hours for little pay, often being housed in unsatisfactory conditions by their employer,” said Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois. “In some circumstances workers are paid a salary, at minimum wage, which potentially allows the employer to get them to work vast amounts of overtime for no extra pay,” she said. “ We’ve also heard of workers who are paid at the minimum wage and are then escorted to an ATM by the employer, who requires the employee to withdraw money and return it to the employer.“ “While the Restaurant Association
believes that these cases are still isolated, we live in a country where exploitation of workers should never occur. If even 1% of our industry’s Marisa Bidois migrant workers are subjected to this type of abuse, it is simply too many,” said Bidois. “ We want our vibrant businesses, and our operators, to be recognised in a good light as an industry. We want to be good employers,” she said. However, the Association does question how some of those workers meet a threshold that allows them into the country on a working visa. The motivation is to bring in skilled workers, who will benefit and enhance the local labour market – and it is unimaginable that these types of employees would
ever be on a minimum wage. “Having said that, the cases under investigation involve workers legally employed in New Zealand, however the Mike Egan terms of their employment are simply not honoured by their employers. “One issue is that exploited migrants are slipping through the cracks that the Labour inspectorate cannot cover – there are simply not enough labour inspectors to police the issue,” said Bidois. “ We are pleased to hear however that the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is
STEPPING down after six years as president of NZ Chefs, Wellington’s Anita Sargison was honoured at the annual meeting of the Association. She is pictured being presented by national vice president Renny Aprea and communications director Carmel Clark.
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14 Meat & Poultry 22 On Trend 26 QSR 28 Radar 32 Liquor
committed to shutting down this type of illegal behaviour and have signalled their need to be more proactive, rather than reactive, in addressing concerns. “They are focused on targeting a number of sectors – our industry is one of them, along with the dairy, horticulture and construction industries. The number one target is exploitation of workers, with a second priority to address the casualisation of workers who should actually be on permanent agreements. We will be working more closely with them and provide any assistance we can,” she said. President Mike Egan said it was a privilege for the industry to be able to bring skilled migrant workers to New Zealand and see the pathway that was available to them to New Zealand residency. “There are still so many positive stories and we will be focusing on these as we work with MBIE to shut done any illegal actions of a small number of our industry,” said Egan.
MAGGI KITCHEN SHOWDOWN WINNERS
NZ CHEFS CONFERENCE
CHEFS FAREWELL SARGISON
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$ 9.95
NZ CHEFS Auckland branch will be hosting the National Conference from 3rd to 5th July 2015. There will be registration and cocktails on the Friday evening, a day trip to a renown local market, demonstrations and information workshops and an organised dinner on the Saturday. There will be master classes, the AGM and the gala dinner on the Sunday. The conference is open to all chefs, however, members get a discounted rate. Contact Carmel Clark on info@nzchefs.org.nz for more information.
THIS year’s Maggi Kitchen Showdown – an intermediate schools cooking competition - has been taken out by four budding chefs from Sancta Maria College. The SMC Sizzling Chicks knocked out The Spice Chicks from Palmerston North Intermediate and Barton Rural School’s Country Cooks from the South Island. The junior culinary programme is now in its fifth year and Nestle Culinary Innovations Manager Richard Brogan reported year on year improvements and more confidence in the kitchen.
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