This article was first published on corporatewatch.org / 22-08-2014
Companies are potentially saving millions by paying asylum-seekers just £1 an hour to do essential jobs inside their detention centres, an investigation by Corporate Watch has found.
G4S, Serco, GEO and Mitie, which hold large government contracts to run immigration detention centres across the UK, paid hundreds of detainees a total of £45,438 for working 44,832 hours – the equivalent of 6,000 working days – in May 2014, according to disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act. The majority of detainees were only paid £1 an hour, with some paid £1.25 for certain jobs.