Halliburton in Australia: “Flexible, Competitive Economies”

Imported Indonesian workers have allegedly been paid as little as $40 a day to dig ditches in the South Australian desert.

Drilling company Halliburton Australia employed a team of Indonesians for labouring jobs at its gas extraction operations in the Cooper Basin late last year.

… The minimum pay Australian workers can expect for the same type of work is about $15 an hour. The Indonesian workers dug trenches and helped in the tapping of gas shafts, performing duties not regarded as highly skilled work.

It is alleged they worked 12-hour shifts for 80 days without a break and were paid $40 a day for the first 40 days and $80 a day for the second half of the stint.

… Immigration Minister Senator Amanda Vanstone says temporary visas are an important part of a flexible, competitive economy.

Bryan Littlely, “Slave Labour for $40 a Day,” Advertiser, 2/13/06, cited in “Rupert-Murdoch-owned newspaper slams Halliburton’s ‘slave labor,’” Halliburton Watch, 2/13/06.