Emma Pritchard

More than 80 prison officers from the Clarence Correctional Centre (CCC) held a rally at the Truck Drivers Memorial Park in South Grafton on September 30, loudly voicing their concerns, anger and frustrations over poor pay rates and unsafe working conditions.

Public Service Association (PSA) Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright said the prison officers are among the worst paid in the country, earning just $26.88 per hour, and negotiations have been ongoing for the past 21 months to secure a new pay deal with multinational Serco, who privately run the largest minimum- and maximum-security centre in Australia.

During the rally, Mr Wright said the prison officers, which he described as highly trained individuals who come face to face with some of the most dangerous criminals in the state each day, would be better off working at Bunnings where a Grade 2A retail worker earns $26.31 per hour.

“These correctional officers are frustrated that they could be working at Bunnings where their job would be to sell hammers, and instead, they’re working for Serco for appalling wages where they risk being hit by one,” he said.

“They are frustrated most and foremost though, that the result of these appalling wages is that their safety at work is being compromised. 

“We are taking industrial action and calling for Serco to come to the bargaining table in good faith and make a serious offer on pay and on commissions.”

Serco have previously offered $28 per hour which unions claim will see the prison officers remain the worst paid in the country.

Mr Wright said the offer is still lower than any other private sector in Australia, adding it is drastically lower than the $34 per hour “enjoyed by their public sector counterparts.”

“Serco is treating these employees like they are expendable,” he said.

“They are responsible for the security and safety of the inmates at the CCC.

“They have people in there serving sentences for the most heinous crimes committed in our community and they face extreme risks which are there every day, and Serco don’t recognise the value of the work these people do.”

Mr Wright said unions have many reports from their members that violence in the gaol is escalating, and the CCC is “dangerously unstable and becoming unsafe for staff and nearby residents.”

He said the prison officers deserve to be recognised and paid accordingly for the work they do.

Negotiations will continue this week.