Pay rise for our prison officers at Clarence Correctional Centre, but is it enough?

As a standoff between prison officers and Serco continues, jail to give $7000pa rise in “good faith”

The operators of the new Clarence Correctional Centre are giving prison officers a pay rise effective immediately, but the guards union said it fails to fix the myriad problems with conditions for the workers.

The pay rise, which Serco said will result in an anticipated $7,000 per annum gross increase was part of an enterprise agreement offered by Serco and rejected by the majority of jail workers last month.

Serco Managing Director Michael Strickland said they were giving the pay rises, which would raise the annual aggregate salary from $61,062 to $68,400 in year one – in good faith in support of their correctional officers.

“During negotiations with the Community and Public Sector Union we consistently said we wanted to increase pay for our officers and wanted to do this as soon as possible,” Mr Strickland said.

“We are disappointed the agreement was not approved however Serco has made the decision to pay staff the increase immediately. The increase will be in staff pay from 2 August,” he said.

“This increase is well above the wage price index and in excess of other industry increases. It has also led to an increase in the hourly rate which flows onto night, weekend, public holiday and overtime work.

The high security female sections of Clarence Correctional Centre, Grafton. New Grafton jail. Photo: Tim Jarrett

“Our priority is to maintain the security and good order of Clarence Correctional Centre by continuing to deliver essential services that keep our staff, visitors, and the inmates in our care safe as well as the broader community.

Our work at the centre continues to deliver some exceptional outcomes and I am very pleased that we were able to show our commitment to staff through this significant increase in pay.”

However NSW Assistant Branch Secretary for the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) Troy Wright said it was still woefully inadequate to bring pay up to standard.

“The pay was only one aspect of what we were seeking,” he said. “We’re still seeking allowances on part with what other centres pay, including paid parental leave, adequate personal leave and rostering provisions that make sure people have work/life balance,” he said.

“This pay offer, despite the increase will still leave staff as the second lowest paid in the country.”

Mr Wright said the union had written to union to recommence negotiations and after workers voted down the last enterprise agreement offer, but apart from acknowledging receipt of their letter, had not reached out to them.

“If they refuse to meet with us we’ll be taking action with the Fair Work Commission to force them back to the bargaining table,” Mr Wright said.

A ballot on whether members wish to begin protected industrial action closes with the Australia Electoral Commission next week, and Mr Wright reaffirmed industrial action could be a result of the negotiations breaking down.