ELE was a labour hire and recruitment business, now in receivership with Deloitte as its managers.
ELE was a labour hire and recruitment business, now in receivership with Deloitte as its managers.
Māori and Filipino workers have been caught by collapsed labour hire business ELE, which got $1.5 million from the Ministry of Social Development to support tangata whenua employment.
Hugh Miller, ministry employment group general manager, said the Crown entity paid the money to support more Māori getting intothe workforce.
All up, ELE was due to get $3.5m in the next two years to support that scheme as it took on more Māori, he said.
Left to right: Mikee Santos, Dennis Maga and Robert Reid of First Union at Thursday night's meeting, taking to members online. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
But on Wednesday, ELE collapsed into receivership with Deloitte immediately terminating contracts of 1000+ workers around New Zealand, many on building sites.
Miller indicated Government funding was being paid to the business to help get more Māori into the labour-hungry construction sector.
ELE had a contract with the ministry through the Māori Trades and Training Fund.
“The programme was set up to train and provide employment placement support for up to 120 rangatahi Māori aged 18 plus years in Tāmaki Makaurau, who are not in sustainable employment, supporting them into an apprenticeship or full-time employment,” Miller told the Herald.
Questions were put to the ministry after ELE posted on its website about the number of Māori it was employing.
Miller said the contracts to fund Māori working at ELE started on June 1 this year. All up, the contract had a value of up to $3,519,300 to June 30, 2025.
But that $3.5m won’t now be paid and those Māori will be looking for other jobs unless they have managed to secure new positions this week.
Carpenter Guillermo Fabello at the First Union meeting for those laid off from recruitment business ELE. He is pictured here at the December 21 gathering. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“To date we have paid a total of $1,506,900,” Miller said of money so far paid to ELE.
The ministry, along with those 1000+ employees, is now expected to appear as a creditor, owed money by ELE when Deloitte issues its initial receivership report.
No date is out for that.
ELE, founded by Brent Mulholland, was proud of its Māori labour scheme. An October 5 website post was upbeat, showing 12 young women and men, many in hi-vis vests, posing in front of a palisade wall with pou in the background, some showing pukana.
“The calibre and commitment of our first group of 13 Māori trade trainees in Auckland has been exceptional and we expect them to contribute well at their workplaces,” ELE said in October.
“The second team are due to start in late October. We are looking for building and construction businesses in Auckland who have roles suitable for pre-apprenticeship trainees starting in November,” ELE said.
The company interviewed all potential trainees and worked with their families and any agencies involved to ensure they were suitable candidates for the programme, it said.
Brent Mulholland.
Then it employed the selected trainees on permanent contracts and assigned a mentor to keep in close contact.
“The first team have developed a wonderful bond and we are really pleased with their professional and personal development. Motivations have been mixed.
“One young wahine wants to become a qualified carpenter and then build a house on her ancestral land. Another has recently become a father and he is setting himself up in a solid career to support his family. The willingness to learn and grow is a common theme amongst the group,” ELE said.
Some ELE staff were this month asked some staff to take pay cuts or redundancy just before receivers were appointed, a union leader said on Friday.
“Some of them were really scared because they feared losing their jobs and maybe being unable to stay in New Zealand,” said Dennis Maga, general secretary of First Union whose members are some of the 1000+ workers left shocked after what happened this week.
The Deloitte initial report will show debts, how much is owed to creditors, list preferential claims including unpaid wages and amounts owed to Inland Revenue, the names and addresses of creditors and the events leading up to the appointment of the receivers.
Those wishing to contact Deloitte are asked to email nzelegroup@deloitte.co.nz or phone 09-952-4224.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
