Westland Dairy ordered to keep collecting milk from Gloriavale farms

By Marine Lourens | Stuff |

The High Court has ordered Westland Dairy Company to continue collecting milk from the farms owned by the Gloriavale Christian community.

Westland announced earlier this year it would cease taking Gloriavale milk following an Employment Court ruling that several of the Christian community’s businesses used child labour and treated workers as volunteers when they were employees entitled to be paid minimum wage.

This led to Gloriavale’s Canaan Farming Dairy Ltd seeking a High Court injunction that would force Westland to continue collecting the milk.

In a decision publicly released on Tuesday, Justice Jan-Marie Doogue ordered Westland to keep collecting milk from Canaan’s farms Bell Hill, Gloriavale and Glen Hopeful “subject to the condition that Canaan not employ any minors or associate partners under the age of 18 on its farms”.

Further reading: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130063634/westland-dairy-ordered-to-keep-collecting-milk-from-gloriavale-farms