Hundreds of workers sacked just before Christmas as labour hire group ELE collapses; got some love and help from their community today after a foodbank drive.
Hundreds of workers sacked just before Christmas should get some love and help from the community today after a foodbank drive.
Mikee Santos this morning was working feverishly with volunteers to get food parcels ready for tradespeople who lost their jobs when labour hire company ELE Group collapseda few days ago.
“We’re distributing more than 500 across New Zealand.”
Volunteers distribute food parcels on Sunday afternoon after the ELE Group collapse left hundreds of Filipino migrant workers facing an uncertain Christmas. Photo / Alex Burton
Santos, Union Network of Migrants’ co-ordinator, said he had “a big shout-out” for Woolworths, the Countdown supermarkets’ operators, which provided $25,000 worth of food vouchers.
He also said Dave Letele of Buttabean Motivation (BBM) turned up.
“You should have seen it, man. When they parked their car here, I almost cried.”
Mikee Santos told a photographer it was a Christmas miracle how quickly the donations arrived. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Apart from deliveries at First Union at 120 Church St, Onehunga, Santos said Filipino groups were also making donations to laid-off workers outside Auckland.
“It’s a 48-hour challenge. We’re going to deliver.”
Santos said volunteers, instead of preparing a feast for their own families today, were helping out in Onehunga.
Carpenter Guillermo Fabello is among hundreds of people out of work due to the ELE collapse. He is a permanent resident, but his wife and family only arrived in New Zealand a few months ago. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“Every family and every soul should celebrate Christmas,” he said.
First Union general secretary Dennis Maga this afternoon said probably 300 packages had already been distributed at the Church St site.
“We’re quite overwhelmed,” he said, referring to the contributions made.
“The idea is that it’s traditional for Filipino families to celebrate Christmas Eve.”
Dennis Maga said hundreds of packages had been delivered by about 2pm on Sunday. Photo / Alex Burton
Related transport business Tranzport Solutions was also in receivership.
On Friday, Immigration NZ said it had identified 255 migrant workers linked to ELE Limited, mostly builders, labourers and carpenters.
AFFECTED WORKERS CAN EMAIL AEWVworkerresponse@mbie.govt.nz FOR HELP WITH IMMIGRATION ISSUES. For donations to sacked ELE workers, there is a BNZ account with the number 02-0528-0575777-001 for Banyuhay Aotearoa, a not-for-profit Filipino community organisation. There is a Migrante Aotearoa Kiwibank account with the number 38-9015-0783387-01.
