Today the Fair Work Commission issued a recommendation that striking Immigration Detention Centre workers across the country cut planned industrial action this afternoon from four hours to two hours.

Workers had already completed their planned four-hour stoppage this morning.

United Workers Union members are currently holding site meetings to consider the Fair Work Commission recommendation ahead of planned four-hour afternoon stoppages.

The Fair Work Commission said it will make a decision on whether to order staff to return to work within five days.

United Workers Union does not believe that protected industrial action by members poses a risk to the health and safety of detainees and workers.

United Workers Union also believes that outgoing contractor Serco’s intransigence is the root cause of the dispute, because of its failure to honour legitimate entitlements owed to workers.

Statement attributable to United Workers Union Allied Industries Director Godfrey Moase:

“The easiest way for Serco to fix this is to pay people their legal minimum entitlements, including their redundancies.

“Throughout the country today* we’ve had workers walk off the job, with 1000 detention centre workers fighting for a fair deal.

“Our workers are sick and tired of sub-standard pay increases over years and years, and they are tired of dealing with the understaffing that has made these jobs even harder.

“Now at the very end with a contract changeover, what they are seeing is their employer trying to stiff them of their minimum legal entitlements, and people have had enough.

“Serco’s position is creating unbearable uncertainty for workers and undermining the transition between contractors.

“Workers want to be paid their redundancies and not have the provider try to use legal weasel words to get out of it, by pushing people to resign.

“The way Serco is acting is inflaming tensions, and it’s disgraceful.”

* Centres where strike action took place:

  • Melbourne Immigration Detention Centre
  • Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
  • Brisbane Immigration Detention Centre
  • Adelaide Immigration Detention Centre
  • Perth Immigration Detention Centre
  • Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre, WA
  • Northern Alternative Place of Detention, Darwin
  • Alternative Place of Detention, Adelaide
  • Alternative Place of Detention, Brisbane