Advertisers offering jobs to backpackers are being told they must pay the minimum wage or risk prosecution. Last week it was revealed that job website
Backpackerboard was advertising jobs below the $16.50 per hour minimum wage. The website has since pulled all job ads below minimum wage and decided to be more alert. However, labour inspectors are taking a closer look at adverts that don't offer the minimum wage.
Workers' advocate Chloe Ann-King named and shamed the ads on Facebook - describing the job market as the wild west for backpackers and temporary visitors. The minimum wage increased by 75 cents this year and equates to $660 for a 40-hour week.
One German backpacker said she quit her farm job in Waikato last week because she was earning below the minimum wage. "I was working at least 48 hours a week ... and I still got the same $400 every week." Another German backpacker got $60 for 10 hours work picking kiwifruit flowers in the Bay of Plenty.
Scoop.co.nz quoted Labour Inspectorate national manager Stu Lumsden as saying: "Many don't actually realise what the minimum wage is ... which is quite surprising.” He said ignorance of the law was no excuse and prosecution was an option.
