Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers The Role of National Human Rights Institutions 5.1. Working with business and industry NHRIs should seek to establish relationships with the business and industry sector to promote greater understanding of their human rights obligations, including their responsibility to respect the rights of migrant workers within their employment. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises has highlighted the important role that NHRIs can play to provide guidance on human rights to business groups and other non-State actors: Guidance to business enterprises on respecting human rights should indicate expected outcomes and help share best practices. It should advise on appropriate methods, including human rights due diligence, and how to consider effectively issues of gender, vulnerability and/ or marginalization, recognizing the specific challenges that may be faced by … migrant workers and their families.190191192 CASE STUDY In 2007, the Government of New Zealand introduced the Recognised Season Employment (RSE) scheme to address labour demands in the fruit picking sector and to provide viable employment opportunities for Pacific Islander migrants. However, following consultations with employers, migrant workers and other stakeholders, the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand identified a number of ongoing problems, including “accommodation, particularly costs and overcrowding; lack of awareness and understanding of rights and obligations, fears of adverse consequences of complaining; and unfavourable reactions from the host community”.191 The Commission has developed recommendations, which it presented to the Department of Labour in 2011, that aim to support the Government and employers meet their human rights obligations in relation to workers under the RSE scheme, and migrant workers more broadly, including to: • provide information on employment law and human rights in relation to employment for both migrant employers and migrant employees in community languages and in multiple formats to ensure accessibility • publicize good practice guidelines and minimum legal standards for RSE employers • monitor the working conditions of migrant workers, including those employed under the RSE scheme, with a view to taking remedial action when poor practice is identified • encourage the development of codes of practice in partnership with industry groups, in particular dairying and viticulture, to ensure fairness for migrant employees in particular and to guide employers on best practice in general.192 190 Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises; UN Human Rights Council; A/HRC/17/31; p. 8. 191 Tracking Equality at Work; New Zealand Human Rights Commission; 2011; pp. 59-60. 192 Ibid; p. 61. 76 | Chapter 6: Promoting reform of law, policy and practice