This is what privatisation does; forces corporations to manage situations without accountability or care to the human beings in the situation:
Dozens of foreign workers have been shipped to Australia to work at immigration detention centres.
Serco has imported 58 staff members, most from England, to staff detention centres it charges hundreds of millions of dollars to run for the Government.
They are employed on generous contracts after short training courses.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen defended the use of imported labour.
“The detention services provider is subject to the same conditions regarding employing foreign workers as any other company operating in Australia,” a spokeswoman for Mr Bowen said.
“Detention centres across Australia employ numerous local workers where possible. For example, Pontville detention centre in Tasmania will employ 100 locals, 50 of whom are currently undergoing training.”
He said the workers, who are mostly in consultancy and management roles, were employed on work visas and paid the same rate as Serco’s Australian workers.
A Serco spokesman said the workers typically stayed in Australia for about six months.
“To ensure best practice is shared across the globe and to deliver value for our customers, we will from time to time second employees to other parts of the business,” he said.
“This means that staff from Serco Australia travel to work overseas, just as staff come here from abroad.
“Serco ensures all its overseas workers come to Australia on the appropriate work visa.”
Experts say the Government will pay Serco close to $1 billion to run Australia’s detention centres.