Gloriavale leaders tried to reduce the workload of 'single ladies' preparing meals for 600 people, three times a day

Monday, 28 February 2022

Gloriavale leaders have made a concerted effort to reduce the workload of “single ladies” who prepare meals for nearly 600 people, three times a day.

That was the evidence of Gloriavale administrator Serenity Valor, to an Employment Court hearing on Monday.

She said the leadership had created a curfew to close the kitchen and laundry, to give the unmarried women breaks if they started early.

“There has been over $80,000 spent in the kitchen on machinery and equipment in recent years to save in preparation time. This means it is not necessary to spend as many hours in the kitchen to accomplish what needs to be done to provide for almost 600 people three times a day,” she said.

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“I have worked long hours per day countless times in the kitchen, office, sewing room or laundry and have been requested by the leadership many times to lessen my work hours.

“However, I have counted it a privilege to be able to work hard and help others in any way I can and many times have said that if I was not [in] the community, I would hold two or three jobs at a time because I like to be busy.”

Valor was born in Australia and moved to New Zealand with her parents when she was seven. The family joined the religious community when it was at Springbank in Canterbury. She was 30 years old when the community moved to Gloriavale on the West Coast.

She said she was “one of the unmarried ladies” of the community and had gained university entrance, a diploma in teaching, and worked in the community’s office as an administrator for 40 years.

Valor also gave evidence that workers in Gloriavale's commercial companies were self-employed contractors, not volunteers. They were paid minimum wage and willingly donated their wages back to the community’s trust.

The court heard allegations that the practice was a “money-go-round” so the community could claim millions of dollars in Working For Families tax credits.

A group of three leavers has lodged the case against the attorney-general on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Labour Inspectorate, and the community’s senior leaders and three of its companies.

The hearing, before Chief Judge Christina Inglis, is taking place this week and will decide whether Gloriavale members are employees or volunteers.

People who formerly lived at Gloriavale have told a court that children born into the West Coast Christian community are locked into servitude and conditioned to follow a “brutal” leadership regime.

The decision will affect both those currently and previously living at Gloriavale regarding their working conditions, pay and employment rights and will go against the findings of a Labour Inspectorate investigation which found workers at Gloriavale are volunteers.

Valor explained the Christian Partners were people who worked for the community’s businesses and were paid minimum wage of $20 per hour as self-employed contractors. Their money went into a pool and was divided evenly among them, and then it was donated back to the community’s charitable trust.

She said the payment of wages was dependent on how much profit the companies were earning.

Crown lawyer Jenny Catran asked her what the point was of paying workers if their profits were getting put back into the trust.

“The whole point is to have money centralised, so it’s a money-go-round. Why are you doing it?”

Valor said it was true that it just created unnecessary paper work and then said it was so that the Christian Partners could feel like they were contributing.

Plaintiffs lawyer Brian Henry put it to her that the system was set up so the community could claim $4.5m in Working For Families benefit.

“The system results in them paying PAYE tax they don’t need to pay and gets them a bigger return from the Working for Families supplement,” he said.

Valor said the point of the Christian Partners Partnership was to provide labour to the companies.

Gloriavale woman Charity Christian said it was not true that people who did not work were not allowed to eat as earlier alleged by the plaintiffs.

She said everyone was provided for by the community equally, and the leaders did not control the allocation of food or necessities of life.

She had lived in Gloriavale since she was 19 and some of her 11 children had chosen to leave.

Peter Righteous, a senior leader or servant, said people at Gloriavale willingly submitted themselves to the Overseeing Shepherd and shepherds, and worked for the community, which lived together as one big family.

He said nobody was forced to work, and there was no slavery at Gloriavale. There was no individual ownership and no-one was employed.

“We work hard and willingly because we want to.”

A former leaver Virginia Courage also gave evidence that people inside Gloriavale were told to be fearful of outsiders and coached about what to say.

The court previously heard former members say young workers led a gruelling life of work with no choice, public humiliation, withholding food, and physical punishment.

The three plaintiffs Hosea Courage, Levi Courage and Daniel Pilgrim told the court about beginning work in the community’s commercial businesses at 6 years old. They said they worked long hours in dangerous environments, had no access to their bank accounts and no choice about what work they did.

Former senior Zion Pilgrim told the court the business structure of the community was set up to maximise profits and minimise tax.

The hearing will continue on Wednesday.