…About 145 migrant workers, mainly from Chile, Peru, Argentina and Colombia, lost their jobs last month with the liquidation and closure of New Zealand construction recruitment company Buildhub.

The company collapsed after being investigated by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) when several workers complained last year about its practices. They said they had moved to New Zealand to take up jobs that were different from what had been offered to them, or that did not provide enough hours of work to make ends meet…

Under the AEWV, scores of people paid thousands of dollars to move to New Zealand, only to be left without work, or with low-paid jobs, sometimes living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Because visas were tied to employers, workers often felt they could not speak out for fear of losing their jobs and being deported…

In February, INZ cleared Buildhub of claims that it breached the conditions of the AEWV…

A worker who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site said: “It’s all very disheartening, especially when in any email, they acknowledge the exploitation, but claim it doesn’t meet the threshold for prosecution. It’s like saying you were hit, but not hard enough to kill you.”

The worker spoke on condition of anonymity, saying that workers had received threats for speaking out…