Liquor store owners who exploit staff should have licences terminated, DB says

Thursday, 20 February 2020

Harjit Singh and his wife Shereen last year lodged plans with the Christchurch City Council to build one of the city's grandest and most expensive homes.

Bottle store owners who exploit their staff should be stripped of their liquor licences, one of the country's largest breweries says.

Stuff revealed on Tuesday that Super Liquor Holdings last week terminated its contracts with Nekita Enterprises Ltd after a Labour Inspectorate investigation found the company had paid several staff less than the minimum wage.

Records show the property where the proposed mansion would be built is worth an estimated $1.45 million. (Composite image)

Harjit and Shereen Singh are the directors and joint shareholders of Nekita Enterprises, which operates 15 bottle stores in Christchurch, Ashburton and Methven.

The couple, who own at least a dozen residential properties in Christchurch worth more than $6 million, designed a palatial multimillion-dollar mansion while they were being investigated.

Harjit Singh is a director and shareholder of Nekita Enterprises. Super Liquor Holdings cut ties with the company after it allegedly exploited staff.

* Super Liquor franchisee Nekita Enterprises 'exploited staff'

* 'Heinous' offending: Bottle store owners fined $200,000 for exploiting staff

* How the liquor store industry is riddled with worker exploitation**

In the past year, Harjit Singh has travelled to South America, China, the USA, Japan for the Rugby World Cup and the United Kingdom for the Cricket World Cup.

Stuff has approached liquor suppliers for comment in the wake of the revelations about Nekita Enterprises.

DB Breweries sales director Paul Millward said the issue of bottle store owners treating staff poorly should be receiving a 'high level of attention and investigation'.

Super Liquor Pages Rd is among 15 bottle stores owned by Nekita Enterprises.

'DB Breweries condemns any form of worker exploitation and fully supports Super Liquor's decision to terminate their franchise agreement with stores that exploit their employees.

'Further, we believe relevant authorities should be terminating liquor licences under such circumstances to send a clear message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated.'

The company was unable to comment further about any ongoing relationship it had with Nekita Enterprises for 'legal and commercial reasons'.

A spokeswoman for Lion NZ said there was a 'robust' licensing system that considered a range of issues that could affect a licensee's suitability.

'As suppliers, it's important and appropriate that we rely on that structure and on due process.'

FIRST INDIAN TO BE INVOLVED IN CHCH LIQUOR INDUSTRY

The Singhs were formerly trustees of the Canterbury Indian Community Centre.

Harjit Singh's bio on the centre's website says he moved to New Zealand in 1989 from Punjab, India, after graduating from university.

After arriving in Auckland, he got an apprenticeship as a baker and within three years became bakery manager.

The family later moved to Christchurch where they purchased their first business.

'Once he had familiarised with the city, he took a step to expand his business further and became the first Indian in Christchurch to be involved in the liquor industry,' his bio says.

Singh has been involved in several organisations such as the South Island Sikh Society, playing a lead role in the seven-year process to establish a new Gurdwara (a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs) in Christchurch following the Canterbury earthquakes.

He also said he'd been the president of Global IndiaNZ, which claims to be an 'interest group' within the National Party.

A National Party spokesman said Harjit Singh had not been involved with the organisation in any official capacity for 'many years'.

'His personal issues have nothing to do with the National Party,' the spokesman said.

GlobalIndiaNZ was rebranded years ago to become the IndoNats.

'It is a special interest group of the National Party that provides our Indian communities an opportunity to get involved with the party,' he said.

Mandeep Singh Bela, the co-ordinator for both the Union Network of Migrants and the Indian Workers' Association, said the allegations faced by Nekita Enterprises were 'extremely concerning'.

'Unfortunately it's not uncommon in many of the small businesses where vulnerable migrant workers are basically preyed upon.'

Singh Bela said in his experience, migrant workers' visas were often attached to a single employer, therefore they relied on them to be able to stay in the country.

'They cannot simply go and work for somebody else … the employer may] threaten them, if they don't pay them this money or they don't work extra hours they will cancel their visas.'

Migrant employees were also often charged a 'hefty premium' in exchange for a job and paid well below minimum wage without any holiday entitlements or sick leave.

Migrant Workers' Association's Anu Kaloti talks to Radio Tarana's Vandhna Bhan about migrant worker exploitation issues. (Video first published November 2019)

Singh Bela said Harjit Singh appeared to have gained millions out of 'exploiting migrant workers'.

'It's about time that these loopholes are closed where migrant workers are placed in such situations.'

LABOUR INVESTIGATION

The Labour Inspectorate investigation, sparked by a January 2019 complaint, found Nekita Enterprises had:

- Failed to pay four staff the minimum wage.

- Required three employees to 'pay a premium' by paying the correct hourly rate and then forcing them to pay it back.

- Kept inaccurate wages and time and leave records. The poor record keeping meant that it was unable to show whether other minimum standards, for example holiday pay, had been met at all times.

The inspectorate has filed proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority seeking 'penalties and arrears'.

Harjit Singh has so far declined to comment.

The Singhs are the directors and joint shareholders of several other companies, including Samsas Enterprises, Gulati Investments (2013), Three Angels Holdings (2010) and 51 Pages Rd.

NEKITA ENTERPRISES LTD'S STORES:

Super Liquor Ashburton, Super Liquor Brighton (Christchurch), Super Liquor East Street (Ashburton), Super Liquor Lyttelton, Super Liquor Methven, Super Liquor Pages Road (Christchurch), Super Liquor Seaside (Christchurch), Wigram (Christchurch), Super Liquor Woodend, Super Liquor Woolston (Christchurch), Allenton Liquor (Ashburton), Ferrymead Wine and Spirits (Christchurch), Wainoni Liquor Store (Christchurch), Wairakei Road Liquor Store (Christchurch), and Woodham Road Liquor (Christchurch).