Kitchen welcomes women’s support
The former operator of a Hastings petrol station has been ordered to pay $252,000 in arrears and penalties after a labour investigation found employees were mistreated and made to live in ‘‘poor’’ conditions.
Pegasus Energy, which operated as a BP station in Flaxmere, owes $132,000 in arrears to two former employees and $120,000 in penalties.
The station is no longer running under the BP brand.
Labour Inspectorate regional manager Loua Ward said the employees were not paid the minimum wage or holiday pay by sole director Jag Rawat.
In evidence given to the Labour Inspectorate, the employees said they were subjected to working conditions that verged on slavery.
‘‘The employees continuously received threats from Rawat saying that he would cancel their visas and they’d be forced to leave New Zealand if they spoke up about the mistreatment.
‘‘Rawat also threatened trouble in the employees’ home countries on return,’’ Ward said.
‘‘They were subjected to unlawful premiums being deducted from their pay and were at times working up to 16-hour shifts, with lesser hours falsely recorded in the business’s records.’’
The pair was made to live in accommodation provided by the employer and pay excessive amounts in rent, despite poor living conditions where they were required to sleep on the floor, she said.
‘‘It’s alarming to see a franchisee operating under such a well-established brand mistreat and underpay their staff,’’ Ward said.
A spokeswoman for BP said the company took the investigation of employment breaches ‘‘extremely seriously’’ and had dropped the company as its dealer.
The seriousness of the breaches resulted in Rawat being personally liable for a further $24,000 in penalties.
Underpaying and mistreating staff could reflect poorly on a business’s brand for years to come, Ward said.
‘‘Migrant workers are vulnerable in New Zealand and may not always be aware of their rights, or may be taken advantage of, which we’ve seen in this case. Rawat saw himself in a position of power, and used this to his employees’ detriment,’’ Ward said.
Rawat had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges in the Napier District Court relating to falsifying immigration documents and misleading Immigration New Zealand. Five female-led businesses have been given their share of half a million dollars in lending to help fast-track their growth plans.
Pomegranate Kitchen, Dove River Peonies, Dermnet, Memory Foundation and Shearwarmth will each take a cut of the $500,000 funding pool, as part of the SHEEO initiative.
SHEEO is a global scheme that seeks 500 women to contribute $1000 each to create a funding pool of $500,000. The money is then distributed among five female-led ventures as an interest-free loan.
Rebecca Stewart, co-founder of Pomegranate Kitchen, a Wellington caterer that employs former refugees as cooks, said the support and money from SHEEO meant the company would be able to put its growth plan into action.
That plan would allow her to double the number of cooks getting work experience, training and employment, Stewart said.
It will also enable Pomegranate Kitchen, which offers Middle Eastern-style food for group catering events and individual lunch delivery, to expand its products and services.
‘‘Being one of the first groups to receive the loan is an honour and a vote of confidence for our business,’’ Stewart said.
‘‘We have exciting plans for growth that are going to make a real difference for more former refugees and their families.’’
SHEEO was launched in New Zealand in October, fronted by My Food Bag co-founder and former Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung.
Of the businesses that applied, 100 met the criteria, and 10 finalists were named in February.
The five winners must meet to determine how much each business will get. The initiative does not offer an even split of the funds.
SHEEO was the brainchild of Canadian businesswoman Vicki Saunders, who operates the scheme in Canada and the United States.
In December, Gattung said the investors, who were called activators, not only gave money, but could also offer their support and become mentors.
‘‘It’s signing on to give women a leg up, because it’s so much harder for women at that stage of their business to get funding.’’
In the US, just 4 per cent of venture capital funding goes to women. In New Zealand, there was no equivalent data, she said.
Businesses must pay back the loan in full within five years. At that point, five new businesses are chosen.
So far, all the US and Canadian businesses chosen by the initiative had been successful.