Risdon Prison staff raise management concerns and work safety fears

An asbestos scare at Hobart’s Risdon prison may be more widespread than first thought, unions claim. FULL REPORT HERE >>

The Tasmanian Prison Service is downplaying the risk of asbestos debris from a damaged roof at Risdon Prison, the Community and Public Sector Union says.

Hundreds of prisoners and staff could have been exposed to the potentially deadly fibres, CPSU general secretary Thirza White said.

Director of Prisons Ian Thomas wrote to staff earlier this month to inform them of the discovery of asbestos in the roof of one of the buildings in the Ron Barwick section of the prison.

“I confirm that the asbestos work area is restricted to the roof area. The asbestos is very wet making it as safe as it can be,” he wrote.

The damage to the roof is understood to have been cause by cockatoos in the time since the roof was last inspected six months ago.

The Mercury has seen other prison service emails which acknowledge the presence of debris on the prison oval, in garden beds near where inmates shower, into a courtyard used by staff for training and onto other grassed areas within the old prison walls.”

Asbestos is a known carcinogen. There is no safe level of exposure and even limited or short-term exposure can be dangerous.

Contractors were called in to clean up the asbestos last week.

Ms White said her members had noted the presence of debris from the damaged roof for months.

“We are extremely concerned that Correctional Officers, prison staff and inmates have been exposed to asbestos contamination,” she said.

“Mesothelioma and asbestosis are dreadful diseases that can be contracted from a single exposure and tick away in the background for decades before striking fatally.”

Attorney-General Elise Archer addresses state parliament during Question Time on Tuesday June 29, 2021.

“It’s not OK for the Prison Service to downplay the risks and require staff, worried about their own health or the risk that they may have contaminated family with deadly asbestos fibres, to conduct their own research to understand the risk.”

“Is it any wonder the Custodial Inspector is reporting Correctional Officers are resigning on mass, resulting in inmates being denied their basic right to out of cell time, when Prison management has such disregard for their health and safety.”

Corrections Minister Elise Archer faced questions about the govenrment's management of the prison and of the new northern prison build in question time in state parliament on Tuesday.

She defended the govenrment's record and said it was working hard to recruit new prison officers to fix ongoing problems with lockdowns.

Anxiety, stress, disrespect: Prison staff raise work safety fears

By Sue Bailey

THE health and safety of staff at Risdon Prison will be investigated by WorkSafe after a survey of staff revealed “significant” concerns about working conditions.

The referral to the workplace regulator comes after another damning report by the state’s Custodial Inspector Richard Connock found the high incidence of prison lockdowns were placing staff and inmates at risk and breaching state law and basic human rights.

Community and Public Sector Union general secretary Thirza White said two-thirds of the 40 correctional officers at the Ron Barwick prison responded to a survey in May that showed management practices were affecting their health and safety.

“The survey was prompted by shockingly high workers compensation and personal leave usage and by a multitude of individual cases involving management, including cases before Equal Opportunity Tasmania,” Ms White said.

“We presented the results to the Director of Prisons on June 17 with the expectation that urgent action would be taken to remove the risk to the health and safety of staff working in that prison.

“As no action had been taken to eliminate or control the risk to members by close of business last Friday, provisional improvement notices were issued by a health and safety representative consistent with Section 90 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.

“Those notices were given to the prison management and Department of Justice and mean WorkSafe will now have to investigate.”

Risdon Prison staff have raised concerns over prison management and working conditions. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Director of Prisons Ian Thomas acknowledged the receipt of the provisional improvement notices and said they would “continue to work collaboratively with all parties towards a suitable resolution”.

Ms White said 95 per cent of survey respondents said they either disagreed or strongly disagreed when asked whether prison management created a trusting and open workplace.

“The survey results also showed that 82 per cent of correctional officers did not feel respected and recognised for the difficult job they do,” she said.

“When asked if they ever feel stressed or anxious at work, 32 per cent responded ‘every day’ with none responding ‘never’ and just 4.5 per cent responding ‘rarely’.”

In his report tabled in state parliament, Mr Connock noted half the officers recruited since 2015-16 have left the prison service and 70 more had active workers compensation claims, of whom 40 were not undertaking correctional officer duties.

Ms White said despite significant short-staffing issues in the prison, only 41 per cent identified that as the cause of their stress and anxiety.

“When asked what caused them to feel stress or anxiousness at work, 68 per cent cited a lack of support from their management, 72 per cent that staff are treated differently by management and 72 per cent cited constant changes in working arrangements,” she said.