Corrections workers pass no-confidence motion in department executives amid backlash over ‘low wages’ achievement
Corrections workers have passed a no-confidence motion in department executives after “degrading” post-it notes were exposed at a managers conference.
SA News
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Corrections workers have passed a no-confidence motion in their executives after senior managers listed “keeping staff on relatively low incomes in face of inflation” as an achievement.
The motion, passed by members of the Public Service Association (PSA), stated the correctional services workforce has been left “deeply upset” by the perceived “achievement”.
“This statement, and the fact that the DCS executive has not condemned the actions, nor seems to be able to recognise the hurt or apologise for causing it, confirms what members have thought for some time: DCS executive has no respect or care for the workforce which operates the department they are responsible for,” the motion said.
Last week, The Advertiser revealed a recent update on Department for Correctional Services (DCS) intranet said senior managers came together for a forum to discuss current topics and future opportunities.
The first activity of the day was around leadership and required staff to write down an achievement, a challenge and a future opportunity.
Photos posted from the event showed achievements written on post-it notes, including one that said “keeping staff on relatively low incomes in face of inflation”, and went on to list “resilience”.
The PSA said the fact that DCS managers had apparently boasted about keeping wages low as an achievement was “ highly degrading and insensitive” and symptomatic of a strategy to keep wages suppressed.
The union wrote to the DCS, calling on him to apologise to staff the “lack of dignity and respect” shown by management.
The motion passed stated the PSA members have no confidence in the executives.
“The employees of this department are its greatest asset, yet it is apparent this is a view not shared by the executive,” it said.
“We believe that the executive demonstrated lack of empathy and understanding toward staff concerns calls for immediate action to rectify these issues, including fair wage adjustments and a formal apology to all DCS staff for the insensitive and totally inappropriate management position.”
Enterprise agreement negotiations are currently under way, with the PSA having rejected the government’s initial proposed increase of “up to” three per cent per annum, with the first increase in August 2025.
A departmental spokeswoman said “the executive team values the hard work and valuable input of all its staff across sites statewide”.
In its initial statement, the department said salaries were not determined by managers.
“DCS values the work and input of all its staff across its sites statewide and for this reason the forum was attended by both corporate and operational employees.
“Staff salaries are determined by the SA Public Sector Enterprise Agreement and not the department”.
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