Clarence Correctional Centre officers to strike over pay dispute with operator Serco

A group of workers will go on strike, arguing their pay is on par with Bunnings, even though their job involves “dealing with murderers”.

Frequent assaults and dangerously low staffing levels are some of the complaints of prison officers at a privately run NSW prison where workers are preparing to strike.

A worker at the Clarence Correctional Centre in the state’s north said the prison is sometimes manned by less than half the staff required to keep the place safe.

“Staff safety is just gone, it’s out the window,” the worker said.

“You’ve got new staff training new staff … we’ve had everything from minor staff assaults to incidents where staff have had to go to the hospital.

“All of this is kept under the covers; no one speaks about it.

Public Service Association general secretary Troy Wright said a pay packet being offered by the private prison operator Serco would leave Clarence officers on par with Bunnings staff.

“These highly trained officers come face-to-face with the most dangerous criminals in this state every day, yet they are paid like they work at Bunnings,” Mr Wright said.

Public Service Association general secretary Troy Wright said officers at Clarence Correctional Centre would go on strike. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

“Which would you prefer; dealing with murderers, rapists and paedophiles or guiding customers through the latest drill range?”

Mr Wright said the $26.88 an hour paid to officers at the prison, near Grafton, was only a few cents better than the wages for local Bunnings workers.

He said a Bunnings employee on grade 2A earned $26.31 per hour.

Officers in the public prison system earn $31 as a starting rate.

Serco, a British company with operations worldwide, said it had made an offer to raise the pay of officers by 8.5 per cent, but that the union had rejected it.

“This wage increase was made in good faith by Serco in support of our correctional officers,” a Serco spokeswoman said.

“Our latest offer includes up to an additional 4.2 per cent wage increase and a one-off payment of $1,500 to provide additional support through these challenging economic times.

Clarence Correctional Centre is located near Grafton in NSW’s Northern Rivers region. Picture: Tim Jarrett

“We are committed to further discussions regarding the pay for our officers as soon as possible and have been fair and reasonable in all offers made to the union and our employee representatives.”

The spokeswoman said Serco was “disappointed” the union had decided to strike and invited them to come back to the negotiating table instead.

Mr Wright maintained the pay being offered didn’t make up for the challenging work officers do.

“For many of our members, it’s Bunnings or the Big House. Simple as that. I know which I’d choose. This is dangerous and stressful work. And they do it to keep the community safe,” he said.

“These officers have been bargaining in good faith with Serco for two years, yet the only offer they have, $28 an hour, will still see them the lowest paid prison officers in the country.”

Mr Wright claimed Serco had trouble recruiting enough staff for the prison because of the wages on offer, and said it lead to the jail being “alarmingly short staffed”.

“The Clarence Correctional Centre is dangerously unstable and becoming unsafe for staff and nearby residents,” he said.

The union compared the prison wages to those offered by Bunnings. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Some workers at the prison have complained of an increase in staff assaults, according to the union.

“Because the pay is so terrible, they can’t keep experienced staff, so they have few to mentor the new staff on how to de-escalate issues,” a worker was quoted as saying.

Another staffer said: “We just want to be heard, we want Serco to realise we’re not just a number, that we’re not replaceable so easily.”

The union said the strike would mean the jail would go into lockdown, meaning inmates would be unable to leave their cells for any reason.

Serco said it has a “proactive industrial action operational plan” in place to make sure order and security would be maintained.

“Serco’s 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,” the spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman for the company previously denied the Clarence facility lacked the staff to monitor inmates.

That came in response to a report of “dangerous levels” of understaffing, including a claim it was “not unusual” for a single officer to monitor 40 inmates.