HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

Mitie shame (Ox-Fly) - Campsfield changes hands

The Ox-Fly | 13.02.2011 18:56 | Anti-racism | Migration | Workers' Movements | Oxford

Campsfield "House", the migration prison near Kidlington (see Ox-Fly 1), is changing management. Mitie (pronounced "mighty" for the sake of pomposity) won the £27m contract[1] and will have a 5 year term[2].

This is a slightly longer, referenced version of an article taken from Issue 3 of The Ox-Fly - Oxford's radical newsletter:
 http://oxfly.theoarc.org.uk

Mitie are a fairly large[3] "outsourcing company"; anything from providing security guards at courts[4] and nuclear weapons labs[5][6] to cleaning the Scottish Parliament[4]. This is the first time they've tried managing a detention centre[2]. These companies specialise in taking over a service and then squeezing it for profit; finding more ways to exploit staff or cut corners.

An appropriate example: migrant cleaners are hired because their "illegal" status makes them vulnerable and easy to exploit, then handed over to the authorities when it suits management, eg if they attempt to organise[7]. In one incident, Mitie bosses were seen "laughing their heads off" while distressed migrants were intimidated and insulted by police[8].

Mitie's CEO was one of 35 who signed a high-profile letter to the Telegraph backing the cuts[9], in the interests of "a healthier and more stable economy". What they really mean is in the interests of their profits; as Mitie's annual report says: "The public sector faces ... considerable pressure on expenditure ... this will create significant opportunities for the outsourcing market"[9].

None of this bodes well for the 200 or so people locked up in Campsfield. Mitie's bid was selected because they offered the cheapest service[1], and though the details have yet to emerge, it seems likely that it will be the detainees who suffer the results.


[1]  http://www.publictenders.net/tender/86990

[2]  http://www.mitie.com/Interim-Management-Statement_Jan

[3]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MITIE_Group

[4]  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9732796e-2d71-11e0-8f53-00144feab49a.html

[5]  http://www.awe.co.uk/Contents/Publication/347f9d9Ass%20Report%20November%2007.pdf

[6]  http://www.aldermaston.net/blog/roving_reporter/401

[7]  http://thecommune.co.uk/2009/07/02/alberto-durango-i-am-for-justice-and-the-truth/

[8]  http://thecommune.co.uk/2009/07/29/testimony-of-a-mitie-worker-in-an-immigration-detention-centre/

[9]  http://thoughcowardsflinch.com/2010/10/18/mities-conflict-of-interest/

The Ox-Fly

Comments

Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech