Workers laid off by Caption company
Workers who complain about low wages are made redundant, as Union investigates.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
TV caption stenographers laid off last week by a live-captioning service are considering pursuing legal action in the Fair Work Commission.
Former employees of ACT-based Caption It were earning as little as $14 an hour, below the minimum wage. Several workers lodged complaints about their low pay, and asked to be switched to better rates before being made redundant by the company.
Caption It is subcontracted to provide closed-captioning on the ABC, as well as for SBS and TEN.
Caption It chief executive Nicole Gilvear confirmed to Fairfax workers were suspended pending disciplinary action, but said it was “unrelated” to their pay complaints. At least four of the complainants have now been made redundant.
Australia’s Community and Public Sector Union has since launched an investigation into the payment for television captioning work.
A spokesman for the ABC said it had “no direct commercial relationship” with Caption It, and was unaware of the matters raised.
One Response
People who were underpaid suspended after asking “please sir, may I have some more”?
This is my surprised face: ?