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A Tokoroa bottle shop exhibited by Stuff because its owners’ long history of alleged exploitation of migrant workers has lost their liquor license, a decision that has been hailed as an important precedent.
Stuff’The s report was cited as evidence before the South Waikato District Council’s liquor licensing committee, which rejected the renewal of the license for the town’s Thirsty Liquor store owned by brothers Taranjeet and Jaspreet Singh Janda.
Last June, Stuff exposed how three former employees in the brothers’ liquor empire claimed they were owed more than $ 400,000 in lost wages after receiving just $ 8 an hour for 90-hour workweeks.
The Jandas, who own a $ 1.8 million luxury home on the outskirts of Hamilton, own Thirsty Liquor franchises in Hamilton, Rotorua and Tokoroa, as well as a Hamilton mini-mart, Tokoroa’s Trees Tavern pub and Black liquor store. Bull. They were forced to sell the Tokoroa Four Square supermarket following previous reports of exploitation.
The committee’s decision is the first because an alcohol license has never been denied for employee abuse before.
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* Employees allege that the liquor baron brothers owe $ 400,000 after years of exploitation.
* How the liquor industry is plagued with labor exploitation
And it came after the committee had previously rejected an objection from local activist Colin Bridle, who intended to use Stuff’s story and call one of the former employees, Satwinder ‘Sam’ Singh as a witness, to oppose the request.
But the medical health officer, Nicole Zeier, opposed the request for renewal of the Two Brothers de Jandas company, citing Stuff’s report, which forced a hearing, in which the Labor Inspection was summoned to to testify and tell the committee that his investigations had found “systemic noncompliance” with labor laws.
Christel Yardley / Stuff
Taranjeet Singh Janda, shareholder and former director of Two Brothers, who owns the store.
The decision is significant because until now, alcoholic beverage licensing authorities have been reluctant to cancel licenses in cases where employees have been exploited.
That’s because of a 2016 Alcohol Licensing and Regulatory Authority decision, called Sharma and Sons, in which Judge Kevin Kelly ruled that serial labor law violations by a South Auckland liquor group They did not affect their ability to supply alcohol responsibly and safely. .
Several community groups and the Labor Inspectorate have been queuing to prove that decision in upcoming licensing hearings in cases of labor exploitation of migrants Stuff reporters have exposed.
The Janda brothers ‘attorney, Pervinder Singh, tried to use Sharma’s decision to renew his clients’ liquor license.
But the committee said that in this case, unlike Sharma, there was a “clear link” between the Jandas’ poor employment record and their ability to supply alcohol safely and responsibly. They said the lack of formal training for staff and the demands to work 12-hour shifts without breaks meant that staff would be fatigued, posing a risk of poor judgment when it came to selling alcohol to minors or drunkards.
They also noted that since this was a renewal hearing, it was the applicant’s responsibility to prove their suitability, not the other way around.
The committee was persuaded by “hard evidence” of misleading or failed record keeping, which deliberately included workers on statutory days to avoid paying criminal fees, failure to pay vacation pay, overtime rates. and overwork and recording of hours worked.
The Janda brothers continue to fight a huge compensation claim from former employee Satwinder Singh, who says he is owed $ 90,000 in wages and wants $ 25,000 in compensation.
Singh’s defender, Sunny Sehgal, said a recent mediation hearing had failed, so the case is likely to go to the Labor Relations Authority.
Waikato-Times
Former employee Satwinder ‘Sam’ Singh is still seeking compensation.
Sehgal said the Jandas “made their fortune by underpaying their employees.”
“Our community demands a proper investigation by the IRD of all its businesses. It is unfair to companies that are doing the right thing by giving their employees their minimum rights to [have to] compete with these unscrupulous employers.
“Both the Jaspreet brothers and Taranjeet are well known in the Indian community and this is the time for the whole community to boycott them until they return the stolen wages of Satwinder Singh.”
Attorney Grant Hewison, who has appeared in many alcohol license hearings and is the secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, said the decision “really sets the stage by showing that labor issues are really a relevant consideration in the renewal of the license”.
“This decision would not have occurred without Stuff hard work and sustained reporting, and the guys who spoke out about it. ”Hewison also applauded the Medical Health Officer for opposing the application on employment grounds, which he believed was a first.
Attorney Grant Hewison said the decision was legally significant.
Bridle said a “very important battle” had been won, and applauded Satwinder Singh and former employee Manjinder Singh, who since then reached a confidential agreement with the Janda brothers, for “the courage they showed in speaking out.”
But Bridle said the issue wasn’t resolved – the store would be sold and the Jandas could continue to trade with their other establishments, including Tokoroa’s Trees Tavern and Black Bull bottle shop.
“So is there any relief for migrant workers or the high-poverty community of Tokoroa that is swimming in places that sell alcohol in the city?”
Labor inspector Erin Spence was summoned by the committee to testify and told them that she had investigated a claim of exploitation of three workers and found a “systemic noncompliance” over a five-year period.
Spence said the “serious” lack of record keeping meant there could be other violations that his investigation had not discovered. MBIE had given the Jandas two extended periods of time to rectify their infractions and had failed.
In a statement, Loua Ward from the Labor Inspectorate said: “It is unacceptable for employers to continually and intentionally violate labor laws, undermining the rights of employees and undermining other companies in the industry.”
The Jandas have two months to stop selling alcohol at the Tokoroa store.
The brothers’ attorney, Pervinder Kaur of the Harkness Henry law firm, said they had time to consider filing an appeal, but asked questions in writing.
