‘If you have to wrestle a prisoner to the ground, a pair of rubber gloves is not going to protect you’

A 21-year veteran security guard said there is “always a risk” in the industry, and backed calls for private officers contracted to the state service in courts and hospitals to be brought in house.

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A FORMER Wilson security officer has backed union claims about safety and pay issues faced by private security officers in the state service in hospitals and courts.

The United Workers Union held a protest at the Launceston General Hospital on Wednesday morning saying officers contracted to work in the high risk environments were underpaid, ill-trained and lacking personal protective equipment (PPE).

Tony Burley, a Wilson Security officer until 2016, backed calls for the government to bring security officers in house and said the complaints were real despite the company rejecting them as “false and incorrect”.

A Wilson Security spokeswoman said staff were provided face masks, hand sanitiser and have access to rubber gloves, protective eyewear and disposable gowns.

She said the company provided “additional specialised training to meet hospital standards”, followed the same practice and procedures as Tasmania Police when escorting prisoners and paid all security personnel in accordance with the Security Industry Award 2010.

“Each escort is subject to a risk assessment determining the appropriate support required,” the spokeswoman said.

Tony Burley outside Hobart Magistrates Court when he worked for the Tasmanian Prison Service.

Mr Burley has 21 years experience in the security industry as a former correctional supervisor and tactical response group leader in the Tasmanian Prison Service and as a security officer.

He said Tasmania Police procedures were irrelevant.

“They’re prisoners and they should be escorted and dealt with in accordance with Corrective Services,” he said.

Mr Burley said Wilson Security officers were doing work formerly done by correctional officer in courts, but without adequate physical training or PPE.

He said the face mask and rubber gloves did not meet the basic needs of escorting handcuffed prisoners from remand centres to courthouses and puncture proof gloves were standard issue for officers in the Tasmanian Prison Service.

“If you have to wrestle a prisoner to the ground, a pair of rubber gloves is not going to protect you,” Mr Burley said.

“If the person is wearing handcuffs, your rubber gloves will rip and tear and your hands will get injured.”

United Workers Union property services spokesperson Sarah Ellis and other UWU members protested the working conditions of Wilson Security staff working in the state service such as hospitals and courts. Picture: PATRICK GEE

Mr Burley said there was “always a risk” when taking prisoners through the tunnel and up the stairs from the remand centre to the Hobart Magistrates Court.

“It’s [in these] dangerous situations that [the officers] don’t have spatial awareness or situational awareness they should have.

“I was an authorised trainer for that sort of stuff in the Prison Service and I offered to do that for Wilson but they did not want to know about it.”

Mr Burley said the officers in the state service were providing a much more demanding service than typical ‘static’ private security contracts.

“These guys aren’t just guarding the magistrate and other members of the public.

“They are actively helping to manage the flow and the process of the courts daily.”

The Wilson Security spokeswoman said Mr Burley’s comments were not reflective of current practices.

“I’m in there all the time [in my current role] and nothing’s really changed,” Mr Burley said.