Waipareira Trust cuts 49 jobs after big losses

Acting chief executive John Tamihere has blamed the redundancies on poor past management decisions. Picture / Greg Bowker

Almost 50 jobs have been axed at West Auckland's Waipareira Trust as its management scrambles to halt multi-million-dollar losses.

The cuts have come from closures at the Henderson-based urban Maori social service provider, including its training and education service, call centre and building development company.

It is understood 24 part-time and 25 full-time jobs have gone.

Acting chief executive John Tamihere said the job losses were needed for the trust to survive.

He said the organisation, which employed about 200 people on turnover of more than $10 million in the past financial year, was losing about $2.5 million a year.

The trust had become reliant on selling lucrative assets to keep failing services afloat, a strategy that could not continue, he said.

Before Christmas, the trust sold 13 per cent of its shares in New Zealand Retail Property Group, which owns Westgate, for $2 million.

"Sacking people, most of them Maori, doesn't leave you feeling very good," Mr Tamihere said.

He blamed the redundancies on poor past management decisions and a changing market, especially in the tertiary education sector.

Former trust chief executive Reg Ratahi said the sackings went against the ethos of the trust.

He blamed changes to Government policy for the training arm's poor performance, and said it was important the trust offered employment training.

"It is all part of the holistic approach, making Waipareira a one-stop shop. It cannot always be about making a profit. It should be about what is best for the whanau."

He said the job losses would hit families of those concerned hard.

The move follows the sale of the group's Waihealth building this month. The building is understood to have sold for about $2.25 million.

The trust's healthcare operation will continue in the building under a lease.

Meanwhile, the Employment Relations Authority has rejected a bid for interim reinstatement by Mr Ratahi, who was removed after a motion of no-confidence at a meeting in April. The motion followed revelations that the Inland Revenue Department had issued the trust with a statutory demand for unpaid taxes in February but board members were not told.

The trust owed more than $1 million to the IRD, and more than $3 million to banks, creditors and in legal fees.

In its ruling, the authority found that while there were serious flaws in the way Mr Ratahi was dismissed, there were "serious allegations, supported by some documentation" about his management.

The ruling said the application was declined because of the relatively short time until Mr Ratahi's unjustified dismissal hearing would be heard, and the strength of the trust's submission.

"The nature of the allegations against Mr Ratahi, and his reliance on procedural unfairness here, indicate that at least the trust will have a strong case for the reduction of any remedies ... It may also have a strong case against eventual reinstatement."

Mr Ratahi declined to comment on the authority decision.