Hundreds of builders, carpenters and other workers who lost their jobs when a large labour hire group went into receivership this week will have to wait and see when — or if — they'll be paid.
When ELE Group called in receivers, it did not have enough money left to pay what it owed more than a thousand workers affected.
Many are now worried about what that means for their ability to pay for bills — and support their families — if work isn't found quickly.
Deloitte-appointed receiver, David Webb, told 1 News receivers were working to establish the extent of debts the group had across its various companies — but there was currently nothing there to pay the former employers.
"On appointment, the ELE Group did not have any funds available for the payment of wages, annual leave and other entitlements."
He says receivers wouldn't be able to pay the workers, or other stakeholders, until the level of debt could be established in comparison to the available assets.
The realisation that they are out of work and out of pay in the run up to Christmas has rocked the workers, many of whom are migrants, a large number from the Philippines.
Most depend entirely on their salaries, not just to pay the bills, but to support the families they've left behind.
John Canimo, 22, arrived here less than six months ago. His father died a year ago. As the eldest of three siblings, the responsibility falls on him to care for his family back in the Central Luzon province of Pampanga.
He says he'd hoped moving to New Zealand would help him provide for his family. "I am better able to support them here, there are more opportunities to explore here."
But having just found out his new job is no more, he's unsure what will happen next. He's holding out hope he'll get a job offer and that the process of shifting his visa over won't take too long.
Canimo lives with five others — all former workers of ELE. They'd only just moved into their North Shore home a month ago. While they have some funds saved up, their biggest concern is how long that will last.
Mickael Vinuya, 29, says that's the biggest worry for them right now. "How will we survive until we can find a job?"
The 29-year-old, also from Pampanga, arrived here in March. He'd hoped to send his family something for Christmas but instead he'd had to tell them he was out of work.
One of the newest arrivals, Arjay Lozano, 32, had left a stable job in the Middle East. It's a decision the father-of-two now regrets.
"It makes me feel sad," he says. "But, of course, I will keep trying to find work. It's not the end of the world but I need to keep looking so I can help my family."
In Wellington, Vicente Basilan had been looking forward to celebrating his first Christmas with his family in New Zealand. The new resident is one of the lucky ones, as all he needs to do is find a job.
But, for many of the more recent arrivals, their visas are tied to their jobs, and getting them changed can be a costly, and timely process.
The situation has led the workers' union to ask the Government to review how many workers are being brought into the construction sector, to try and prevent others being left out of work.
First Union general secretary Dennis Maga says many migrants arrived here expecting full-time work, only to end up working part-time.
"A lot of foreign workers are coming here, ending up not employed, or under-employed," he says. "We have to help out these workers, because we brought them here, they are helping the New Zealand economy."
In a statement, the Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said she was looking at how the Government could be more stringent in its approach to ensure that it was meeting genuine skill shortages.
But she remained confident in the immigration process.
"The tightening labour market and the effect on the large number of migrants who have arrived in New Zealand since the borders opened is concerning," she says.
"I am confident the process for migrants to vary the conditions of their visa through a job change process is working as intended.
"I have been advised that there is an escalation process for urgent applications to vary migrants' visa conditions."
In the meantime, the Filipino community has rallied to call for donations to support all those affected by the recent job losses.
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