FOLKS, KINDLY SHARE... BE AWARE, BEWARE: KIWI ASSESS SKILLS, PHIL COOPER...via N. ZEALAND MEDIA: stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/64820586/Chch-businessman-offering-migrants-advice-without-licence Chch businessman offering migrants advice without licence CECILE MEIER Last updated 05:00 10/01/2015 A company linked to a Christchurch businessman has been shut down by Philippines authorities for illegal recruitment of migrants. Phil Cooper, who co-founded large construction company Buildtech, is an assessor for Kiwi Assess Skills Assessment Centre, a Filipino entity. He is a shareholder and sole director of the entitys New Zealand counterpart, called Kiwi Assess. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it had closed the Filipino entity in December following discreet surveillance of the company. It found the company had neither a licence nor the authority to recruit Filipinos to work in New Zealand but had entertained applicants, conducted interviews and . . . advertised jobs for overseas employment and referred applicants to licensed agents. The POEA said Cooper introduced himself as the foreign counterpart owner and manager of another business bearing the same name in New Zealand. Whether or not Mr Cooper owns Kiwi Assess, the fact that he is involved in the operations of the entity makes him liable under the law, the POEA said. Cooper denied the Filipino entity was recruiting workers, but admitted it had offered advice to prospective migrant workers even though it had no licence to offer such advice. He said Kiwi Assess New Zealand continued to operate and recently brought in the first Filipino worker to New Zealand under new legislation that required the company hiring a migrant worker to pay migration fees. Kiwi Assess is focused on delivering ethical, low-cost connections between Filipino workers and appropriate employers in New Zealand, he said. Cooper resigned from his general manager role at Buildtech in 2013 to focus on other projects. The Press last year investigated one of Coopers limited liability companies, which presented itself as a not-for-profit organisation. World Changing leased 12 houses in Christchurch and rented them to Filipino migrants. One of the houses was shared by nine workers. It had three bedrooms and one toilet. At the time, workers were charged $130 weekly for a shared room, and $180 for a single room. Cooper said last year World Changing reinvested money back into Filipino communities here and in the Philippines. It was applying for charitable status. Cooper was previously implicated in Australia for alleged visa infringements relating to Filipino workers. In 2008, following visa-programme abuses, the business he operated there was barred from using foreign workers for five years. The allegations included claims the company was charging workers high rents for accommodation in houses provided by the firm and contravening pay and workplace safety regulations.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 17:03:37 +0000