Prison officers have begun a series of rolling strikes at Queensland jails, accusing the state government of proposing unsafe staffing arrangements.

May 2, 2019

Queensland prison officers are expected to walk off the job for a second day after months of wage negotiations broke down.

A series of half-day strikes began on Wednesday afternoon and will continue until Friday at prisons across the state, the Together union says. 

Union secretary Alex Scott has accused Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) of seeking to undercut award conditions and introduce a “risky” flexible staffing policy focused on the bottom line, not security and safety.

“These issues for members are far more important than wages,” he told AAP.

“What was a debate (on Tuesday) about wages has now become an issue about the safety of the community and our members through a fundamental change to the way correctional centres are managed.”

Officers at Capricornia Correctional Centre in Rockhampton, Woodford Correctional Centre and Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre are expected to walk off the job at 1pm on Thursday.

Mr Scott said the protected industrial action was called after QCS stalled wage negotiations for three months.

QCS said each of the affected jails would be placed into lockdown when the officers walked off the job.

“Prisoners will receive meals and medications as needed during this time,a spokeswoman said in a statement.

“Contingency plans are in place should there be an incident at the centres during the lockdowns.”

In December, correctional officers walked off the job at the high-security Woodford Correctional Centre after a 45-year-old male officer was bashed by an inmate.