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Twelve Chubb security guards have been sacked and the company is under Immigration Department investigation amid revelations it hired bank and Customs guards without work permits and with questionable security authorisation.
The Herald on Sunday understands the guards had been working for several weeks in banks and at Customs clearance areas such as those for cruise-ship passengers on Auckland's waterfront.
Immigration New Zealand confirmed that an investigation into Chubb - which faced criticism after the murder of teenager Liam Ashley in a prison van - was under way.
Chubb managing director Tom Nickels last night confirmed that 12 guards had been sacked. "It's an unsatisfactory situation. It was brought to my attention, we investigated, and we terminated their employment immediately. The company takes this very seriously."
The company is under-taking a wider review of all its guards, but Nickels said the public could have confidence in it. "Chubb is a large company with significant operations - I believe we deliver a high-quality service."
An internal company investigation was still under way to determine how the 12 non-permitted workers had been employed. Nickels said Chubb had used an employment agency that it had used before and that the workers all had IRD numbers.
He would not comment on his own managers' roles or on the possibility of the company facing heavy fines under the Immigration Act.
He also would not confirm that the guards had been employed in banks and in Customs areas, saying he would be prepared to answer more questions at the end of the company's investigation, likely to be early this week. He was not prepared to comment on whether they were also lacking proper security certificates.
Immigration New Zealand documents obtained by the Herald on Sunday show it believed at least six people have been employed by Chubb without authority.
Officials are using the Immigration Act 1987 to demand from Chubb the workers' wage records, as well as their full names and dates of birth.
If found to be in breach of the Act, Chubb and anyone who knowingly allowed unauthorised employees to work could face fines of up to $100,000 and seven years' jail.
Nickels confirmed that the workers had come from the Pacific Islands and had started work in December.
In a statement yesterday, Department of Labour investigations national manager Carl Manning said: "The Department of Labour confirms an investigation is under way.
"The Department of Labour staff are working with Chubb Security on the matter and are unable to make further comment."
This is not the first time Chubb has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. A Corrections report implicated it in a chain of blunders and miscommunications leading up to the death of Auckland teenager Liam Ashley, who was bashed and strangled to death in the back of a Chubb van last August.
