Low pay, high risk at Clarence Correctional Centre could lead to deaths says former jail boss

‘Woolies and Coles pay better’: former Grafton jail boss says lives could be at risk as a result of privatisation but operators say he has no credibility.

Former Grafton jail boss, John Heffernan said lives may be at risk as a result of privatisation at Australia’s biggest jail.

After hearing from workers inside the Clarence Correctional Centre too scared to speak up for fear of losing their jobs Mr Heffernan said “the centre is failing to reach expectations”.

“Woolies and Coles pay better.”

By Serco offering a low pay rate, he said, they lose staff due to the risk factor and fail to recruit experienced staff creating concerns about staff-to-inmate ratios.

The assistant general secretary for the Public Sector Association of NSW agreed the pay rate is well below industry standards and staff are leaving for jobs in hospitality which pay better.

Tony Wright said “There’s a massive staff turn over which increases anxiety which leads to more turnover.”

Safety and service concerns

Both Mr Heffernan and Mr Wright are concerned that staff safety is a bigger problem than the pay rate.

“On one occasion the male maximum security, which usually requires 60 posts, had just 35 people,” Mr Wright said.

“They can’t provide the full range of services under the contract.”

Mr Wright added that approximately half of new recruits are failing to complete training.

Both men said the staffing shortage is so critical that leave at Christmas was effectively cancelled.

Mr Heffernan has called for a government inquiry into the centre’s operations.

A spokeswoman for Serco Australia responded that Mr Heffernan, also known as the Last Governor, “has no credibility nor connection to Clarence Correctional Centre.”

In answer to our questions on Monday about the pay rate, staff retention and training completion rates, Serco referred to answers given to The Daily Examiner in July 2021.

The statement repeated that in 2021 Serco had increased the approximate annual aggregate salary for correctional case officers by 11 per cent.

“With the one-off payment it takes the Clarence Correctional Centre workers well above the identified industry average,” the spokeswoman said.

The statement continued that staffing was appropriate and leave rotated to be fair to all staff.

The statement failed to address the staff turnover or training completion rates.

When asked for comment the Minister for Corrections Geoff Lee, said it was an operational issue and referred to the same statement supplied from Serco in July last year.