Clarence Valley News
Second jail strike in 10 days

Second jail strike in 10 days
By Tim Howard
Prison officers at Australia’s largest jail, the Clarence Correctional Centre, south of Grafton, have walked off the job for the second time in 10 days.
Members of the Public Service Association, notified prison owners, Serco, that members would strike from 8am to 6pm on Monday.
The union assistant general secretary Troy Wright said workers were incensed at Serco’s refusal to improve safety standards and pay rates after over two years of negotiations, which have culminated in industrial action.
He said officers at the centre, which included a maximum-security division, are paid $26.88 an hour and have been negotiating for two years for a new pay deal with Serco.
“These men and women put their own safety on the line every day for the rest of us. It’s not right to ask them to do that for the same pay as they’d make scanning shovels at Bunnings,” Mr Wright said.
“Serco is a massive multinational with incredibly deep pockets. It can easily afford to pay these workers the same rates as those who work in public prisons. Instead Serco have stonewalled us for two years of negotiations.
“I think Serco figured these prison officers would just fold in the end. Well, I hope they understand how wrong they were. We won’t stop fighting until we achieve a fair outcome.”
Mr Wright said the Clarence Valley community would support the workers who do a difficult, but vital job.
“Very few of us ever want to set foot in a prison, let alone work in one. But it’s vital work that has to be done,” he said.
“And those who put up their hand for it shouldn’t have to struggle to feed their families.
“The dismal pay and conditions that Serco offer means they can’t recruit or retain staff. So the jail is regularly short-staffed. Some nights there are just four officers on duty. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
Mr Wright said although the workers were being short changed, the company benefited from the worker shortage.
“This is a private prison, so one perverse aspect of the chronic understaffing is that every time Serco don’t fill a shift, that’s more profit they make, and that’s just wrong,” he said.
“My message to Serco today is clear: stop playing silly buggers, sit down with the union, offer them a fair wage. They deserve it and the Grafton community deserves it.
“We know any pay rise won by prison officers will flow straight through the economy of this region which desperately needs it. And I bet Serco’s shareholders won’t notice one way or the other. So let’s get a deal done.”
The Clarence Correctional Centre and Serco have been contacted for comment, but did not respond before the paper’s deadline. Those responses will be published next week.
A Serco spokesperson said Serco respects the right of union members to participate in protected action and we have operational response plans ready to implement to ensure the safety and security of the Centre is maintained and there is minimal operational impact.
Clarence Correctional Centre has appropriate staffing levels for the inmates accommodated at the centre.
Serco has met with the union and employee representatives on several occasions over the past 18 months to negotiate an enterprise agreement that will increase correctional officers’ pay.
Serco have invited the union to re-commence negotiations several times in order to reach an agreement in a fair and reasonable manner; however, they continue with their plan to conduct industrial action.
We are committed to further discussions regarding the pay for our officers and have been fair and reasonable in all offers made to the union and our employee representatives.
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