‘Corrections Officers are not punching bags’: Prisoners in lockdown as workers strike
Fed-up corrections officers have put their foot down this week in what has been an unprecedented response to the rising risks faced by workers.
South Australia’s prison system is set for further disruption as corrections officers across seven state prisons prepare to vote on Wednesday morning on whether to extend a 48-hour strike that has forced widespread inmate lockdowns.
The vote will also include Home Detention Officers, who oversee electronic monitoring for roughly 1,500 offenders sentenced to serve their time in the community.
Their potential withdrawal of labour threatens to broaden the operational strain already gripping the corrections system.
The industrial action escalated on Tuesday when Corrections Officers opted to continue an initial 24-hour strike for an additional day following stop-work meetings at Yatala Labour Prison, Port Augusta Prison, Mobilong Prison, Port Lincoln Prison, Cadell Training Centre and Adelaide Women’s Prison.
As a result, more than 2000 prisoners have been confined to their cells since Monday morning, prompting what union leaders describe as an unprecedented statewide lockdown.
Corrections Officers say the strike is a direct response to worsening violence inside prisons and a staffing crisis driven by low wages and high turnover.
On Sunday, an inmate at Yatala Labour Prison was beaten unconscious, suffering facial injuries so severe that metal plates were required to reconstruct parts of his face.
Two other serious bashings occurred at the same facility last month.
In October, a female inmate allegedly attacked another prisoner with a metal pole, causing life-threatening head and neck injuries and severing a finger. A female Corrections Officer sustained a broken hand while intervening.
Union officials say the incidents highlight persistent risks to both staff and prisoners.
General Secretary of the Public Service Association Charlotte Watson said the government must urgently address safety concerns and stabilise the workforce.
“We need to see safe prisons with a productive, stable workforce,” Ms Watson said.
“Violence in our prisons is out of hand and our members won’t take it anymore. Corrections Officers are not punching bags.
“Every day I hear of another Corrections Officer leaving for another career — they’re voting with their feet.”
The state government has not yet publicly responded to the latest threats of extended industrial action, but the looming vote is expected to determine whether lockdown conditions continue across the prison network for a third consecutive day.
Originally published as ‘Corrections Officers are not punching bags’: Prisoners in lockdown as workers strike
