John Welch, Secretary of the WA Prison Officers Union
It could have been the result of the constant lobbying, the media attention our Respect the Risk campaign got, the hundreds of postcards hand delivered to the Commissioner, or the hundreds of emails our supporters sent to Minister Marmion; the good news at the end of all this hard work is that we won the battle to get a good EBA agreement!
The new agreement provides 12.5% over three years maintains all our conditions and introduces a $44 allowance to be paid on top of all overtime.
We worked hard to break through the Government’s view that we should trade-off current conditions in order to get a better pay rise than CPI. We now believe we have secured this; and have not traded off any current conditions to get to this point.
The new deal requires the union to enter discussions about a new staffing review, similar to what happened in 2006. This was always something the Department of Corrective Services could do, and we are not precluded from fighting for our members safety.
As long as we’re able to represent our members unfettered we do not fear such a process. It is clear that representatives in the Department believe that savings can be made through such a process. We have been clear we will not be bound to any savings targets but will commit to working with them in the process.
We have achieved one milestone, and now we need your help again.
The WA government is currently considering a plan to privatise Kalgoorlie’s Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison.
The evidence from overseas suggests that private companies running prisons will inevitably lead to fewer staff, more dangerous prisons, less focus on rehabilitation – and poorer justice outcomes for the entire community…
On the 17th November, we will meet with Kalgoorlie Mayor Ron Yuryevich, and convey our concerns about the consequences of privatising prisons.
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