- 4 -
28 October onwards. To facilitate checking by Labour
Inspectors, Police or Immigration officers, it is also
proposed that employers of more than 10 persons will be
required to keep a simple list of names and details of
the identity documents produced by each of their employees.
Other employers will merely need to have these details
on record.
7.
Employers who fail to comply with these require-
ments become liable to a fine of $50,000 or imprisonment
for a year. The monetary penalty may seem low, having
regard to the potential gain to be derived by an
unscrupulous employer who takes on illegal immigrants
at starvation wages: but it is the Government's hope
that it can rely on employers to co-operate over this -
it is clearly in their long term interests to do so.
If, however, there is widespread evasion, it will be
necessary to reconsider the level of the penalty.
8.
One other Section in this Part .which calls for
comment is Section 17N, which provides for the presumption
that any person found without proof of identity in a
place of employment is an employee, unless the contrary
is proved. We regard this as essential to the enforcement
of the new measure otherwise it becomes all too easy
-
for an unscrupulous employer to maintain that an illegal
immigrant found on the premises just happened to be
visiting.
But some Honourable Members have expressed
/misgivings...