The Global Work & Travel Co. is an Australian travel company. Founded in 2008, the company provides working holiday, teaching abroad, and volunteer packages and helps travellers with travel insurance, flights, and travel visas.
Based in Surfers Paradise, Australia, the company has offices in London, United Kingdom and Vancouver, Canada, and operates primarily in five countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Global Work & Travel Co. is a member of various travel industry associations, including ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Agencies), and AFTA (Australian Federation of Travel Agents). The Global Work & Travel Co. is also listed as an AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) travel agency.
In 2014, a joint investigation by CBC News and Australian Broadcasting Corporation found several dozen complaints from customers who could not find employment through the company's programs, resulting in a settlement and a fine from Queensland's Office of Industrial Relations (OIR).
Video The Global Work & Travel Co.
History
The Global Work & Travel Co. was founded on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2008 by Jürgen Himmelmann and his father, Pierre Himmelmann. Based in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, it has offices in three cities: Surfers Paradise, Vancouver, Canada and London, United Kingdom.
In April 2014, the company relocated its headquarters which had 50 employees at the time into a whole-floor of an office building in Surfer's Paradise. In November 2014, Jürgen Himmelmann, the company's co-founder and CEO, won Business News Australia's Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Professional Services category. The Global Work & Travel Co. partnered with XploreAsia in Thailand to found Rescue Paws, a non-profit animal rescue and rehabilitation project designed to reduce the stray and injured dog population in Thailand.
The Global Work & Travel Co. donates a portion of its profits to local animal shelters, and in 2017 supported both the RAPS Regional Animal Hospital in Greater Vancouver, Canada, and AWLQ (Animal Welfare League Qld) of Queensland, Australia. In 2017, Global was a finalist in the commercial category for the Australian Web Awards for best website design.
Maps The Global Work & Travel Co.
Criticism and controversy
In November 2014, the company was investigated jointly by CBC News and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which found several dozen accusations from consumers who traveled internationally and were unable to find employment. The travellers said Global Work & Travel employed high stress sales techniques, bogus pledges about jobs, and massive markups. In February 2015, members of the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) descended upon the company's Surfers Paradise Headquarters to retrieve records. They then sent the case to their Major Investigations Unit. Global Work & Travel reached a settlement with OFT after OFT's 13-month probe. The company assented to refunding $25,655 to 29 customers. Steve L'Barrow OFT's director of tactical compliance, said, "I would describe the conduct of this company as unethical and indifferent. They really didn't care about what financial position they were putting the kids in and they didn't care that their conduct was unfair."
In February 2015, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia fined Global Work & Travel and its owners $138,000 for not paying $25,250 to six workers they had misclassified as independent contractors. Global Work & Travel also was investigated by the Queensland's Office of Industrial Relations (OIR). OIR levied a $9,000 fine on the company in February 2016 for violating the Private Employment Agents Act 2005 six times. Global Work & Travel settled with OIR in March 2016 to have all charges resolved after paying $4,585 to two travellers who had sought work through the company.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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