Exclusive: Chenoah Rose says company refused to take her complaint seriously and she was forced to work alongside man for five months after making it

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A former Wilson Security guard at the Nauru detention centre claims she was forced to work alongside a supervisor for five months after she lodged a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Chenoah Rose has accused the company of refusing to take the harassment claim seriously, later promoting the man to a senior role and making her redundant after she lodged a separate workplace injury claim.

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Rose said Wilson’s use of travel insurance to cover injury claims left her waiting 10 weeks without payment for treatment of a shattered tooth and concussion after a workplace fall.

The union representing security guards, United Voice, said her case showed Wilson was ill-equipped to manage security contracts for both Nauru and Manus Island and called on the lead contractor, Transfield, to find another provider.

Rose claims she is owed a total of 23 weeks of wages from her year working in “behaviour management” at Nauru, which has led to her family losing their home and left her “nearly bankrupt”.

She said her experience working in the detention centre was a nightmare in a workplace culture that was “horrendous” and claimed that it “comes right from the top”.

Rose alleged bullying and sexual harassment among staff was rife. She claimed her direct manager made repeated unwanted sexual advances, including asking her via computer for an “offshore arrangement”, telling her he would visit her at her Brisbane home.

She took computer screenshots of the messages and sent them to Wilson’s human resources department in May last year to complain of sexual harassment.

“I was forced to keep working with the perpetrator and heard no more from Wilson about the issue until October 2014, after kicking up a fuss about it,” Rose said.



“The perpetrator has since been promoted. That’s the kind of culture we’re dealing with here. Bullying and sexual harassment are just rife, but there’s no one you can talk to and nowhere you can go to report it. The strain on workers is just huge.”

Rose said that after returning to work while still waiting for treatment for her shattered tooth, she contracted a mouth infection, and was diagnosed with a deeper head injury. She was eventually given a temporary tooth filling and is still awaiting root canal treatment.

A United Voice coordinator, Damien Davie, said conditions for workers on Nauru and Manus were appalling and urged Transfield to cut ties with Wilson.

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“The only way to improve conditions for workers and detainees at these facilities is to bring in another contractor,” Davie said. “Staff are being mistreated all the time and are forced to endure horrendous conditions.

“There are significant issues with communication for these workers. The phone lines are often down, emails are strongly believed by staff to be monitored and workers are banned from using Facebook.

“The strain on workers’ families is huge and that leads to marriage breakdowns, which just escalates the situation for the workers out there. It’s a pressure cooker environment and that doesn’t do anyone any favours.”

Rose said she had been denied the opportunity to speak to her four-year-old son for weeks at a time. Other workers missed parents’ funerals “because Wilson wouldn’t provide leave or didn’t arrange flights out in time”.

Another former guard spoken to by Guardian Australia backed this claim.

Guardian Australia sought comment from Wilson Security and Transfield.