A woman who set up a modelling agency to support Māori and Pasifika talent, and who held herself as a leader in the community, never paid one of her models and kept the young woman’s commission for herself.

Ernestina Bonsu-Maro started EBM Artistry to pay homage to the sacrifices of Pacific people working low-wage labour jobs to support their families and support up-and-coming young talents from South Auckland.

However, according to a ruling from the Employment Relations Authority Bonsu-Maro didn’t pay one young model at all over the course of a year, then fired her and denied she was an employee at all.

Now, Bonsu-Maro has been ordered to pay model Caitlyn Smythe a total of $25,000 in lost wages and compensation.

Smythe told NZME the decision was highly vindicating and she was determined to hold Bonsu-Maro to account, not just for her own sake but also to stand up for other young and vulnerable Pasifika people in similar situations.

“The authority’s findings underpin that there was a major disconnect between Ms Bonsu-Maro’s rhetoric about empowering Pasifika youth versus her practice of enticing models in with promises of paid employment and then dishonouring those commitments.”

Maro started EBM Artistry in 2023 – though she never actually registered it as a company or legal entity – as South Auckland’s first and only talent agency focusing on providing a platform for “Latinos, Africans, Europeans, Polynesians”.

“I’ve realised my purpose is to serve the talent around me, for a generation to know who they are and what they’re gifted with,” she told NZME at the time.

Not a modelling agency but a ‘community platform’

Smythe, who went on to be crowned Miss Earth New Zealand in 2023, attended a free modelling workshop run by Maro in 2022 and was offered a job and shortly afterwards signed an employment agreement.

However, she was never paid for any of the work she did for the company EBM Models until she was let go a year later and was never given a reason for her dismissal.

Caitlyn Smythe went on to represent New Zealand at the Miss Earth pageant in 2023. Photo / Miss Earth

At the hearing in December last year, Maro said she did not run a modelling agency but merely provided the free “community platform” to connect individuals who had an interest in modelling with designers or organisations that required models for events.

Maro claimed Smythe was undertaking voluntary community activities for her personal benefit and experience and denied she had signed an employment agreement.

However, this was contradicted by her own witnesses, who said an agreement had been placed on the table after the 2022 workshop and Maro had invited attendees to sign it.

Maro also admitted she received payment for the modelling work her employees had done, but had kept the money instead of passing it on to the models.

She also admitted during questioning that the agreement models signed could have been misleading.

At the hearing Maro left suddenly in the middle of being questioned, claiming her baby needed to go to hospital. She did the same thing when the hearing was rescheduled the following day, claiming she needed to pick up her mother.

By contrast, Smythe was described by the authority as a “calm and credible” witness who told them how she felt exploited by Maro, who used her to boost Maro’s own brand.

Smythe said she was concerned that other young Pasifika women would be treated similarly and would be unaware of their legal rights.

Ernestina Bonsu Maro (seated) pictured with her mother Yinuki Maro. Photo / Supplied

She provided evidence to the authorities that she’d done 137 hours of work for Maro and was owed nearly $3000, which was calculated at the minimum wage.

The authority heard that when Smythe had asked Maro for a copy of her employment agreement, Maro had repeatedly deflected and delayed until ultimately firing her in 2023.

‘... she specifically targeted young Pasifika people ...’

Authority member Rachel Larmer found in her ruling that Smythe was an employee of Maro’s and had been unfairly dismissed.

“Ms Smythe was new to the workforce, so did not know what her legal rights as an employee were.”

“She had also looked up to Ms Bonsu Maro as a leader in the Pasifika community, so did not feel able to challenge Ms Bonsu Maro’s actions while employed.”

Larmer ordered Maro to pay Smythe $25,000 in lost wages and compensation and imposed a further $3000 fine.

“Ms Bonsu Maro held herself out to be a leader in the Pasifika community and she specifically targeted young Pasifika people to work under her EBM brand,” Larmer said.

“Ms Bonsu Maro was dealing with inexperienced and young Pasifika youth (mainly girls/young women) who could reasonably be viewed as being in a relatively vulnerable position, compared to older more experienced employees because they were not aware of their legal rights and were reliant on Ms Bonsu Maro to treat them fairly and in compliance with her legal obligations.”

Maro declined to comment for this article.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.