Gloriavale ordered to make its workplaces safer after several warnings

By RNZ

The Gloriavale religious community has been told to make its workplaces safer.

WorkSafe has followed up several warnings to the West Coast community in 2022, with six assessments this year.

Those have led to an improvement notice to its Canaan Farming Engineering operation — to keep children away from its site. This had been complied with, WorkSafe told RNZ on Tuesday.

It had also issued a directive for safer shelving racks at Gloriavale’s Forest Gold Honey operation.

The Crown agency was also waiting for an Employment Court ruling on whether the community was considered an employer — a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) — as far as its laundry and kitchens went, it said.

Media reports have said a boy broke his arm in a washing machine there.

“WorkSafe would be unable to issue enforcement notices until the responsible PCBU is identified by the court,” it said in a statement.

“WorkSafe would issue notices or take enforcement action only if a health and safety issue was identified.”

Meanwhile, WorkSafe had been in talks with a health and safety consultant that Gloriavale engaged, who had recommended to Gloriavale that it “treats the laundry and kitchen areas as a workplace, pending the court’s decision”.

The Employment Court recently ruled that six women had been employees, not volunteers, at Gloriavale.