Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Gloriavale's Overseeing Shepherd was the employer of three men who worked long hours from the age of six at the West Coast Christian community, the Employment Court has found.
Hosea Courage, Daniel Pilgrim and Levi Courage were found to have been Gloriavale employees, rather than volunteers, in a landmark 2022 Employment Court case.
Chief Judge Christina Inglis found the work they did between the ages of six and 14, including on farms and factories, could not be described as "chores" because of the commercial nature of the tasks, they were done over an extended period of time and they were "strenuous, difficult and sometimes dangerous".
She said it was plain that ready access to child labour constituted a significant factor in the success of the Gloriavale business model.
In a further judgement released today, Inglis ruled Gloriavale's Overseeing Shepherd was the men's employer - the position rather than the individual who held the role.
"I am satisfied, based on the evidence before the Court, that the Overseeing Shepherd (regardless of the identity of the individual holding the role at any particular point in time) was the employer during the periods that each of the plaintiffs worked in the Gloriavale Community," she said.
"It is...clear that the Overseeing Shepherd exercised ultimate control over the Gloriavale Community, including its business, partnership and trust activities.
"The plaintiffs may well have been simultaneously employed by other entities within the Gloriavale structure (jointly or otherwise), but that issue cannot be resolved at this stage and does not (in my view) need to be."
Hopeful Christian was Overseeing Shepherd from the community's inception until his death in 2018, followed by current leader Howard Temple.
Judge Inglis reserved a decision on the costs the men were entitled to.
Daniel Pilgrim began working from the age of six in the Gloriavale community gardens and was directed to work in a moss factory and dairy farm from the age of seven.
Hosea Courage harvested moss and worked in the moss factory, gardens and at the Glen Hopeful dairy farm and a piggery.
Levi Courage worked at a farm from the age of around six or seven.
When the boys were 15 years old, they were required to participate in a "transitional education/work experience programme", moving into full-time work at Gloriavale businesses.
Hosea Courage worked at a pet food factory and the Glen Hopeful dairy farm and Daniel Pilgrim in a honey business.
Levi Courage also worked at a honey business and was directed to do building work during the seasonal slow-down.
They left Gloriavale in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
The men's barrister Brian Henry said they were "over the moon" with the ruling, which was a huge step forward in their claim for lost wages and compensation.
"They have worked since they were six years old for nothing. They're now out in the community and starting to understand how the real world works. This is a real taking on of a Goliath.
"Every step where we get a success for them is disbelief that finally someone is making the establishment come and say, 'yes, you are a victim and yes, you do have some victim rights that have just been ignored'. They are recognised and their victim's position is recognised."
Gloriavale was structured to try to prevent former members recovering money, Henry said.
"There will be a long set of proceedings as we unwind how Gloriavale is structured before it turns to cash, so a long way to go. Gloriavale is designed to stop anybody being able to enforce a debt against them," he said.
In a separate case, the Employment Court last year found six former Gloriavale women were employees of the Overseeing Shepherd when they worked on the Christian community's domestic teams
They claimed they were treated like slaves preparing food, cooking, cleaning and working in the laundry.
Inglis said the context differed in the men's case, partly because they worked in various workplaces within the overarching Gloriavale operational structure, including various companies and trusts.
The three men and six women have lodged an Employment Relations Authority claim against the Christian community for lost wages and compensation believed to total $5.2 million, although Gloriavale was granted leave to appeal in the women's case on two narrow questions of law.
Gloriavale previously said the community had always worked to comply with New Zealand law and denied members were employees.
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