Right to an adequate standard of living: accommodation and rent very close together and some workers were sleeping on bunk beds. The rooms were often cold, damp, and in some cases mouldy. Electricity was included in the rent, but many workers told us that they had purchased heaters because they were too cold. However, we heard that these were confiscated by some employers to save on electricity bills. 74. RSE employers are required to make available appropriate pastoral care (including food and clothing and access to health services and suitable accommodation) to their non-New Zealand citizen or residence class visa holder workers at a reasonable cost during the period of the workers’ RSE limited visas”57 75. The Commission observed three types of accommodation that was used to house RSE workers: a. Motels and camping ground cabins; b. Rental houses owned by the RSE provider and rented out for RSE workers; and c. Purpose-built units. 76. RSE workers that we spoke to were charged between $150 to $175 per week for accommodation, which included power and water. Workers’ most frequent question to us was whether this cost was reasonable when the standard practice was for two to seven workers to share a bedroom. In some situations, this meant an employer was charging over $1,000 per week per bedroom. 77. We heard about one situation where 18 workers were sleeping in a large hall across 9 bunk beds. Each worker was paying $160 per week. 78. Their concerns of having to pay their own accommodation costs are further compounded by the poor standard of accommodation, explained further below. Motels and camping ground cabins Rental houses 80. As with motel rooms and camping ground cabins, the Commission observed that it was standard practice for four or five workers to share one bedroom in a house. All the rental houses we observed were cold, mouldy, and run-down. In one house we could smell a gas leak and were told that the workers had complained to their RSE provider and were waiting for it to be fixed. 81. Workers told us that they had purchased their own heaters to heat their bedrooms, but had them confiscated, despite electricity being included in the rent. 82. At a number of rentals, we saw workers huddled together in the living room where one heater was allowed. In one house, we observed 18 workers sharing a five-bedroom house, each paying $150 per week. Purpose-built accommodation 83. ILO Recommendation 115 on Workers’ Housing states that it is generally not desirable for employers to provide housing for their workers directly. However, in cases where housing is provided by the employer:58 79. Some RSE employers had rented out motels or camping ground cabins for their RSE workers that the workers then paid them for. The rooms we observed were shared between two to six men. Beds were 57 58 (a) the fundamental human rights of the workers, in particular freedom of association, should be recognised; (b) national law and custom should be fully respected in terminating the WH1.5.5 (c)(v) https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/#46619.htm. R 115 – Workers’ Housing Recommendation, 1961 (No. 115) at 12. 17