Wednesday May 30, 2007

Breakthrough In Prison Unit Managers Dispute

The PSA is recommending that the prison unit managers it represents call off industrial action, due to begin on Thursday next week.(June 7)

The unit managers served notice of industrial action last week. This was because the Corrections Department has cut their pay by $4500 a year by axing a muster allowance that was being paid because of a huge increase in inmates.

"We are recommending the action be called off because the department has acknowledged that the unit managers' pay issue needs to be addressed," says PSA organiser, Alan Ware.

The breakthrough in the dispute came during a mediation hearing involving the PSA and the Corrections Department in Wellington.

"The department told us that it has 'sympathy' for the unit managers' on the pay issue," says Alan Ware. "It also acknowledged that the unit managers have a strong case for a pay increase because of the way their job has grown over the years."

"As a result the union is recommending that the unit managers withdraw their notice of industrial action while we pursue an agreed process to address their pay issue," says Alan Ware.

The unit managers are now voting on the recommendation to lift the industrial action. The result of the ballot is due this Friday, June 1.

The action, the unit managers have served notice of taking, is scheduled to begin on Thursday June 7. It involves unit managers working only their 'normal hours' of 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Under the notice of action they would refuse to do any "on call" duties outside these hours. They would also refuse to accept any work related phone calls 'after hours' or perform any "acting up" duties between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday. This means assuming the authority of the prison manager when the prison manager is unavailable.

The action is scheduled to continue indefinitely. If it goes ahead it would cause significant problems because unit managers are required to be 'on call' to carry out duties that need to be performed to keep prisons operating.

ENDS

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