Minister for Employment Jone Usamate is warning businesses to register with the Ministry if they’re considering recruiting Fijian nationals to work abroad.

The matter has come to light this week after charges were laid against two sisters for the alleged trafficking of 17 Fijian nationals to New Zealand in 2014.

Usamate says his Ministry will be clamping down on illegal foreign employment agencies with the penalties including a fine of up to 10 thousand dollars and one year imprisonment term or both.

“Sometimes people are now going to travel agents and get them to do these things and when these things happen. When people do that, they don’t meet the law, people go in on visitors visas, they end up working and when they are working in a country on a visitor’s visa, they don’t have much protection, they will do whatever, they’re pay can be cut, they’re overworked and all of these negative things happen. So you make it mandatory, if you’re going to take people out of this country, you have to work through a registered employment agency. At the moment there is only two.”

Meanwhile the Minister adds that currently there are two cases of alleged trafficking before the Employment Tribunal.