Midnight Evictions NSW Jail

Date: 16 March 2009

Prison officers today warned the NSW Government the state's jails would spiral out of control if Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham is allowed to continue the attack on his own workforce.

The call follows extraordinary scenes at Cessnock jail overnight when 107 prisoners were removed from their cells as part of preparations to privatise the prison.

While privatising prisons is counter to ALP policy and is currently before an Upper House inquiry, Commissioner Woodham is pushing on with the plans, which he says are designed to break the Prison Officer's Union.

Prison officers at Cessnock Correctional Centre today sought an urgent meeting with Corrective Services Minister John Robertson following the removal of more than one hundred prisoners under the cloak of darkness.

The prison officers, who received no forward notice of the movement of the prisoners, this morning passed a resolution condemning the transfers and:

• placing state wide overtime bans in all prisons
• welcoming an ICAC investigation into the Commissioner's claims of overtime mismanagement
• condemning the executive staff involved in the movement
• and highlighting the safety concerns of officers, inmates and the community.

"There are times when a Minister needs to step up and this is such a moment - we have a Commissioner at war with his workforce who is prepared to hand prisons over to the private sector in order to break the union.

"It is disappointing that since he became minister, Mr Robertson has yet to meet a prison officer - now is the time for him to get involved and convince his workforce he is prepared to lead," Mr Cahill said.

"This latest move shows utter disregard for both of the current investigations, and smacks of desperation. Why is the Government so desperate to push ahead at any cost?"

Stop the Cell-Off Rally, April 2, Parliament House

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