Some security guards were hired to work at Melbourne’s COVID-19 quarantine hotels through WhatsApp messages, in a process so murky that some didn’t even know who they were actually working for.
Key points:
- Shayla Shakshi responded to a WhatsApp message offering work as a quarantine security guard
- She says guards were told to bring their own personal protective equipment
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One industry insider says the use of subcontractors will complicate the job of the ongoing inquiry into quarantine breaches
Shayla Shakshi was one of the guards who received a WhatsApp message offering her work as a quarantine security guard in a Melbourne hotel.
“They actually contacted me and they’re like, ‘Would you like to work at this place?” she told 7.30.
“I just got told that you need to be here at a certain time and you’re going to dress in a certain way and this is your pay rate. That’s it.”
Concerns raised about COVID-19 outbreaks
In late March, without a tender process, the Victorian Government contracted private security operators to guard hotel quarantine guests.
The companies contracted included MSS Security, which was put in charge of the Stamford Plaza, and Unified Security, whic