Gloriavale Seeks to Appeal Employment Court Ruling
Opinion Piece by Liz Gregory.
It was no surprise to hear that Gloriavale has sought leave to appeal the Pilgrim Employment Court ruling. The implications for them and the way they operate could be reasonably significant. I was struck by some of the reasons for the appeal and have summarised them below:
- Possible Misdirection of Employment Court on the requirements of Section 6.
- Lack of Contract of Service
- Wrong conclusion by the Employment Court that amounts to an error of law
- Did they make an error of law by not identifying the employer?
- Did they breach natural justice rights by:
a) The judge failing to recuse herself (step down) after judging the Boys’ case
b) Appointing Counsel to assist the court (Mr Kirkness) when the plaintiffs had adequate representation
c) Admitting evidence that was prejudicial and irrelevant
d) Appointment of Dr Norris as a court expert part way through the case, without interviewing any plaintiffs or having access to the evidence - The judgement is likely to impact the rights and interests of other community members
- The Labour Inspectorate investigated twice and found they were not employees
- Since the judgement, the Govt has indicated it intends to take action against the community and this will have ramifications for the way of life of its members
- Will impact other communal groups in NZ
- Contrary to how other country’s courts have viewed similar communal groups
- The issue should have been heard by the Employment Relations Authority first
Assessment
I’m no lawyer, but I wasn’t surprised it was just a general all out splatter-gun approach – in the desperate hopes that something will stick. They will have to be given permission by the court to head to an appeal. I expect leave will be granted if there is even a small of a possibility that any of these points above have merit.
Gloriavale are fully entitled to appeal this decision. They didn’t appeal the Boys’ Courage case decision in 2022 (and they possibly regret that).
The issue leavers have is that it will just waste more time and money, and it casts doubt on whether they feel an ounce of guilt over the way they have exploited people for many years…
After the Courage case judgment in May 2022, Gloriavale issued an unprecedented apology. I don’t recall talking to any leaver at the time who actually believed it was genuine, and perhaps the appealing of this decision shows it up for what it most likely was – a publicity stunt to quell a growing scandal which was impacting the economics of the organisation. I’m not sure they can actually be sorry for anything if they don’t believe they have done anything wrong.
Why don’t they think they have done anything wrong? Because conditioning is powerful. They’ve been used to a way of life for 50 years and it’s become normalised to treat people as a collective group of slaves. They don’t even see it like that. They defend it, downplay it, justify it and excuse it. Faithful Pilgrim’s statement in court was mind-blowingly insenstive and tone-deaf (even some girls in Gloriavale are currently furious with him for saying this!)
“During the time when most of the plaintiffs were working in the kitchen I used to notice that most times when I came into the kitchen during work hours I would typically see something like four girls at a bench, maybe cutting up carrots or another vegetable. One would have their hands moving, one or more would be talking and the other two would be just listening. The point is that a big part of their time in the kitchen was spent socialising rather than working flat out the whole time. It was the same in working bees on 7th Night – Saturday, and in the sewing room.”
Three Correct Assertions
One of the most intriguing reasons that Gloriavale gave for appealing was that the Government had gone into Gloriavale twice and determined they were not employees. Yes!! Exactly!! And that’s why the court case was predominately against the Government (the Attorney General on behalf of the Labour Inspectorate). The Govt were the first defendant for their failure to do their jobs and recognise exploitation and label it correctly as an employment issue. The second defendants were Gloriavale.
Secondly, Gloriavale are saying it will impact other community members. Yes you’re right. That’s exactly why the leavers took the case to court! They want it to change your life. They don’t want you exploiting and abusing people any longer.
Thirdly, they complained that the Govt had indicated they would be going into Gloriavale to enforce the ruling and that would have ramifications for the other members. Yes indeed. That was the whole idea! The court case was designed to put a rocket under the Labour Inspectorate to give them the confidence to do their jobs.
It’s good Gloriavale has recognised there are consequences for poor and behaviour.
Irony
The irony lies in that the leader who signed the appeal documents, also included a bunch of articles and information with the appeal documents. One of them included pages of their “2018 version of What We Believe” – their foundational document that outlines…. what they believe. The crazy thing is that they spent lots of time in court downplaying the significance of What We Believe (which the judge did not accept, and even called out in the judgment). In fact they went further to say the original version and the 2018 version had been replaced with a 2022 version, which was now just a ten-page document, and the rest had been done away with. Mmmmm hardly. It’s called What We Believe, because it’s what they believe. You can shred it and burn every copy tomorrow, and nothing would change at Gloriavale. You can mix it up, rewrite it, remove some stuff, but nothing would change. It’s a worthless, useless bunch of papers – except it does contain what they believe. And their beliefs are problematic. And so in that way What We Believe will live on in the culture and thinking patterns for decades to come – unless people come out from under the grip of the false ideas and practices and humble themselves and admit it doesn’t look much like Christianity.
By adding WWB to the appeal notes, they made the point perfectly that leavers were trying to make. WWB is simply what they believe. I hope they can see the irony!
Plantiffs’ Reactions
Anna Courage said it appeared the leaders did not want “normal working conditions” for women in the community. They’re just trying to delay better working conditions, which is absolutely appalling. They are supposed to be Christians and love and care for their people. They are not treating people as humans. It’s really disgusting.” She said while she was there, women in the community worked 17 hours a day. People have collapsed under those conditions. It’s basic human rights.”
Serenity Pilgrim said she was disappointed by the leaders’ application. “We put in a lot of hard work to get to where we are, then once again they are just stalling the process that will bring change for workers in Gloriavale. I have family in there and I did this to bring changes for them. Nothing is changing, which is really sad.” She said women kept everything running in Gloriavale and to bring changes to their working conditions and pay would be “massive”.
Pearl Valor said she was not surprised the leaders wanted to appeal, but was surprised when they did not appeal the men’s decision. “They didn’t expect to lose… I have nieces and nephews in there and they need a future. “It’s an embarrassment for our country,” she said.
Virginia Courage said she believed the leaders appealed against the women’s case because they did domestic work, whereas the men worked in commercial businesses. “I had to leave my home every day and go to work. I had no choice and they could change my occupation just by writing my name on a roster.” The community should build separate kitchens and laundries for families to do their own domestic work, but the leaders wanted control over every aspect of how they lived, including meals and clothing, Courage said.
Watch this space. Will the appeal be allowed? And what will the outcome of any appeal be?
Media
Read some news related to the bid for the Appeal here:
RNZ – Gloriavale to Appeal Loss in Employment Case
The Press – Former Gloriavale Women Slam Leaders Appeal
Stuff – Gloriavale Seeks to Appeal Decision Ruling Women should be Treated as Employees