The Cricket World Cup kicked off on Saturday, but there’s another battle taking place off the pitch. Hundreds of foreign workers have been hired in place of qualified local TV crews, the media union says.

By CESIRA COLLELUORI 

Local TV crews have been cut out of the Cricket World Cup broadcast in favour of cheaper overseas workers.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) said Broadcast Solutions – the company supplying crews – had overlooked Australians, bringing in about 200 foreign workers on 400 visas.

“There’s only a handful of Australians that are involved … probably somewhere between 17 and 20,” MEAA spokesperson Mal Tulloch said. Hundreds of overseas workers have been brought in.

He said this was the first time an international television event in Australia had brought in a large number of foreign workers at the expense of the local industry.

“There’s at least three or four hundred broadcasting crew that we know of that is unemployed at the moment,” Mr Tulloch said.

He said Broadcast Solutions had made no genuine attempt to employ Australian professionals.

“If they went through a 420 Visa they would have had to have demonstrated a net employment benefit to the local industry.”

The 420 visa is intended for use by both performers and production staff for work in the entertainment industry. The 400 visa is for people with specialised skills and can include those taking part in a short-term sporting event or specialists needed to deal with issues of national importance, including major disasters.

According to a cameraman, who wished to remain anonymous, the foreign recruits are working at “half the price", making them an attractive alternative.

“We fear that companies in Australian television will see that they could save money by importing workers from overseas,” the cameraman said.

And it’s not just Aussies who are missing out.

New Zealand Labour leader Andrew Little told Voxy.com.nz  Kiwi workers had also been bowled for a duck.

“Many of those employed are from India, South Africa and Malaysia,” Mr Little said.

“It is clear the broadcasting company is used to staging these events in economies where wage rates are a lot cheaper. They now want to make a profit by keeping skilled Kiwis out of the Cup.”

So outraged was Sydney-based audio technician Pieter Boon that he started a petition, so far gaining  the support of more than 1500 people.

“I just felt like something needed to be done … I thought it was a bad precedent to start,” Mr Boon said.

While Australian crews have also been recruited on overseas productions such as the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, he said it was unusual to see an event staffed almost entirely by foreign workers.

“Normally an outside company would bring in key staff like a producer and maybe a small entourage of people to facilitate the broadcast,” Mr Boon said.

“They don’t bring all their cameramen to do the game.”

Broadcast Solutions did not respond to a request for comment.

The Cricket World Cup will continue in Australia and New Zealand until the end of March.