Prison Officers begin overtime bans

Date: 06 March 2009

Prison Officers across NSW will take part in an overtime ban starting this morning to highlight the NSW Government's attempt to bust unions and privatise the state's jails

The rolling bans will start at Long Bay Correctional Centre, and staff at Parklea, Grafton, Parramatta and several other jails as well as the Court Escort Security Unit will to take part over the weekend.

POVB State Chair Matt Bindley said prison officers were angry that the head of Corrective Services, Ron Woodham, was constantly making attacks on them and their integrity.

"Commissioner Woodham has repeatedly claimed that prison officers are chasing overtime, when the reality is the prisons rely on overtime because of low staff levels.

"A few days living with no overtime might highlight to the Commissioner and the NSW Government that the claims of overtime abuse are just a smokescreen to attack officers and their union.

"The Commissioner went into the Upper House Privatisation Inquiry last week and instead of presenting his department's case for privatisation made sweeping claims about officers.

"Prison officers are the people who go to work everyday to face what most people fear, to literally put their lives on the line.

"If Ron Woodham is so convinced that the whole problem here is greedy prison guards rorting the system to their advantage with overtime, then we are happy to stop working overtime.

"Prison Officers, the Union movement and the vast majority of the NSW community are against the privatisation of prisons because we don't believe prisons should be run for profit.

"We are asking the Government to reconsider their decision as it becomes increasingly clear this move is motivated by Commissioner Woodham's desire to crush the union," Mr Bindley said.

For further information

Contact:	Matt Bindley, Chair, PSA Prison Officers Branch
Union:	Public Service Association of NSW
Contact Mobile:	0408 964 037
WWW:	http://psa.labor.net.au/

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