The Kumamoto District Court awarded more than ¥17 million in damages Friday to four Chinese interns who were forced to work long hours for low wages in Kumamoto Prefecture.

The court ordered that the union Plaspa Apparel, which arranged the trainee work for the four, to pay ¥4.4 million and that the actual employer, a sewing agency, pay ¥12.8 million in unpaid wages.

It is the first ruling that held a job broker for foreign trainees liable for their hardships, according to lawyers representing the four interns.

The four female Chinese trainees, aged 22 to 25, engaged in sewing from early morning to late evening with only two or three days off a month after arriving in Japan in 2006, according to the court.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100130b2.html

MORE than 250 foreign students receiving tuition on the Gold Coast have been left without a school and, for some, a place to live after their English language school was closed suddenly yesterday.

Eight schools operated in Australia by the GEOS group, including one in Surfers Paradise, shut their doors in the afternoon after receivers were appointed when the group went into voluntary liquidation.

Nationally, the closure affects about 2300 students from countries such as Japan, China, Switzerland, Argentina and Brazil.

Jean-Baptiste Fouroux, 29, from France who had been studying at the Queensland College of English in Surfers for two months, said he was shocked.

“We have been told nothing,” he said last night. “I went to class today (Friday) and they said nothing to us.

“If this is true, I want my money back. I’ve paid $320 a week for my course which runs for 12 weeks.

“I don’t know what I will do.”

Mr Fouroux’s host father in Mermaid Waters, Christian Ulrichsen, also was unaware of the administrators moving in.

“I have two students staying with me,” said Mr Ulrichsen.

“I haven’t been informed — I haven’t even gotten an email.

“I will assist them as best I can but I’m limited in my resources.”

Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young are administrators to nine companies operating the schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Cairns.

Bill Egerton, who is contracted by GEOS to pick up foreign students for the Surfers Paradise school in his Koala Blue bus, said: “The receivers walked in and told everyone to leave. They have closed the doors. I’m owed about $4000 from them.”

Mr Egerton said there were about 260 students at the school.

He said 15 students were due to arrive this weekend but would have nowhere to go.

“These kids pay $10,000 to $15,000 each for tuition.”

The administrators said a better understanding of the financial situation and a decision on future operations should be known by the close of business on February 1.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/01/30/183565_gold-coast-news.html

EMOTIONAL scenes erupted outside a Perth language school today after it closed unexpectedly due to financial problems.

Dozens of foreign students, who have already paid thousands of dollars for courses, were still arriving for night English classes at St Mark’s International College in Perth tonight.

The school is one of eight language schools across Australia, owned by the GEOS group, that went into voluntary administration this afternoon.

About 2300 foreign students are currently enrolled across the nation, facing an uncertain future.

Some students could be forced to return home if the terms of their visas have been breached because they are unable to take part in full-time study.

Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young have been appointed administrators to nine companies operating the schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns. They have about 390 employees and international students from a number of different countries.

“The financial position of the companies is such that the directors appointed voluntary administrators,” Mr Walsh and Mr Nikitins said in a statement on Friday.

“School operations have been temporarily suspended while the financial situation of the companies and ability to fund future operations of the schools is assessed over the next few days.”

The companies under administration are GEOS Melbourne Pty Ltd, GEOS Adelaide Pty Ltd, GEOS Sydney Pty Ltd, GEOS Cairns Pty Ltd, GEOS Gold Coast Pty Ltd, GEOS Perth Pty Ltd, GEOS Brisbane Pty Ltd, GEOS Management Services Pty Ltd and GEOS National English Academy Pty Ltd.

The administrators said a decision on future operations should be known by the close of business on Monday, February 1. Students have been told to return for a meeting at 2pm.

“Employees, students and creditors will be advised as soon as possible,” the administrators said.

One student said she had paid $3000 for a three-month English course, while another stood to lose $11,000 for a 12-month course.

Students huddled together outside the college tonight, unsure of what the future held for them.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/shock-as-st-marks-international-college-shuts-doors/story-e6frg2qu-1225824866792

Eight English language schools operated in Australia by the GEOS group have gone into voluntary administration, leaving about 2300 foreign students unsure of their future.

Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young have been appointed administrators to nine companies operating the schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns.

They have about 390 employees and international students from a number of different countries.

“The financial position of the companies is such that the directors appointed voluntary administrators,” Mr Walsh and Mr Nikitins said in a statement on Friday.

“School operations have been temporarily suspended while the financial situation of the companies and ability to fund future operations of the schools is assessed over the next few days.”

The companies under administration are: GEOS Melbourne Pty Ltd, GEOS Adelaide Pty Ltd, GEOS Sydney Pty Ltd, GEOS Cairns Pty Ltd, GEOS Gold Coast Pty Ltd, GEOS Perth Pty Ltd, GEOS Brisbane Pty Ltd, GEOS Management Services Pty Ltd and GEOS National English Academy Pty Ltd.

The administrators said a better understanding of the financial situation and a decision on future operations should be known by the close of business on February 1.

“Employees, students and creditors will be advised as soon as possible,” they said.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/eight-english-language-schools-in-limbo-20100129-n3px.html

Ernst and Young has been appointed voluntary administrators to private English language school GEOS Perth and eight other affiliated companies, affecting a total of 2,300 students from a number of countries.

Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins from E&Y will be administrators of the nine companies that operate eight schools in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Cairns, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth.

The schools have about 390 employees.

The pair will also be administrators of GEOS Management Services Pty Ltd and GEOS National English Academy Pty Ltd.

“The financial position of the companies is such that the directors appointed voluntary administrators,” E&Y said.

“School operations have been temporarily suspended while the financial situation of the companies and ability to fund future operations of the schools is assessed over the next few days.”

In 2006, GEOS Perth, which at the time was affiliated with St Mark’s International College, was a finalist in the education export category for the WA Industry and Export Awards.

http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-story/1/78178/Administrators-called-to-Perth-school