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Katie Woolf spoke with United Workers Union Secretary Erina Early · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one O four point nine's three
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  Speaker 1: sixty Now. Last week we spoke about an independent risk
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  Speaker 1: assessment obtained by the Northern Territory News which warned that
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  Speaker 1: inmates could escape from their selves and climb onto the
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  Speaker 1: roofs of the Darwin Prison. That risk assessment by out
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  Speaker 1: Back Safety, dated November nine, twenty nineteen, identified thirty one
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  Speaker 1: concerns at the facility, with risks thirteen and fourteen about
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  Speaker 1: the installation of new fencing. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line to talk more about this is the union which
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  Speaker 1: represents the correctional staff at the facility. It is Secretary
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  Speaker 1: of the United Workers Union, Erina Early. Good morning, Eerina,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 2: How are you not.
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  Speaker 1: Too bad now? Erina? Can I ask firstly, are our
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  Speaker 1: correction staff safe?
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  Speaker 2: To be honest, I would say no, Katie. I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: If you remember a couple months ago Anti Worksace wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: allow their officers onto the prison grounds because it wasn't
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  Speaker 2: safe for them. That's really an alarm bell. If you
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  Speaker 2: can't allow Anti WorkSafe in there, why are you allowing
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  Speaker 2: correctional officers and the staff there to be in that workplace?
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  Speaker 1: So what are the risks and why are things so
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  Speaker 1: bad at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: I think one of the big issues is, Katie, is
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  Speaker 2: because they do have that court case in regards to
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  Speaker 2: the riots and the fire as well. So the government
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  Speaker 2: keeps saying the reason they can't produce anything to us
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  Speaker 2: is because it could be they need this information for
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  Speaker 2: the court, yep, etc. But on of the view, the
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  Speaker 2: thing is we may have another court case if officers
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  Speaker 2: and stars die because the government hasn't acted on the
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  Speaker 2: recommendations of the previous risk assessment in twenty ninety and
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  Speaker 2: the three that were done after the riot.
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  Speaker 1: Goodness me, so, Erina, you're saying that it is it's
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  Speaker 1: that dangerous right now. Absolutely what needs to be improved here.
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  Speaker 2: I think what we need to do is look at
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  Speaker 2: those recommendations, make these recommendations available to the stakeholders and
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  Speaker 2: we can all work together to try and get these amended.
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  Speaker 2: Because the union at a position now, Katie where we're
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  Speaker 2: considering our options to see if it's safe for our
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  Speaker 2: officers to continue working in this prison.
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  Speaker 1: So what are those options.
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  Speaker 2: Well, one of the options could be that we actually
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  Speaker 2: take all our officers out of the prison.
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  Speaker 1: When are you looking at potentially doing this.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's something we need to consider, Katie. It is
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  Speaker 2: a very unsignificant option for us to do because we
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  Speaker 2: need to consider the safety and the well being of
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  Speaker 2: the prisoners. At the end of the day, my first
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  Speaker 2: priority is my officers, and if they're not safe, we
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  Speaker 2: have to take those extreme measures. No one's listening to us, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: So Eron or it sounds as though you're feeling you
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  Speaker 1: know it, will staff are feeling really very concerned. But
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  Speaker 1: essentially what you're saying here is that they would take
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  Speaker 1: that stop work action and just step out of the prison.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely what the vulnerable Katie, They've had enough.
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  Speaker 1: What would happen then? How would the prison be able
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  Speaker 1: to operate without those correction staff.
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  Speaker 2: To be honest, Katie, it won't be our problem. That
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  Speaker 2: will be up to the commissioner and the government to
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  Speaker 2: work that out.
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  Speaker 1: Well. I mean some listening will say that sounds pretty irresponsible,
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  Speaker 1: but others would say, well, their concerns need to be
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  Speaker 1: listened to.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's correct, Katie. I think what people really need
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  Speaker 2: to do, really consider is every worker deserves to come
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  Speaker 2: home safe from work, regardless of what occupation you have.
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  Speaker 1: So Erina, if you do go down this path. How
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  Speaker 1: soon is that going to happen? I mean, how soon
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  Speaker 1: could we have a situation here where our prison officers
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  Speaker 1: are striking and they're not inside the jail to manage things.
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  Speaker 2: It could be very very soon. We're just making sure
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  Speaker 2: we're getting all the correct advice, Katie, and so it's
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  Speaker 2: nothing to resolve shortly. It could be by the end
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  Speaker 2: of the week or next week.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. So it sounds like this is really pretty urgent
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  Speaker 1: matter which needs to be sorted out.
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  Speaker 2: Erin.
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  Speaker 1: Has the Minister or anybody else in those decision making
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  Speaker 1: positions said that they will sit down with you and
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  Speaker 1: sit down with the correctional stuff. No, it sounds like
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  Speaker 1: there's a bit of a stale mate here.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I think there is. I think a lot of
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  Speaker 2: it does come down to this court case. But you
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  Speaker 2: can't keep hiding behind things, Katie. They really need to
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  Speaker 2: look at some action, and even if it's the small
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  Speaker 2: steps that look very progressive towards our members, to actually
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  Speaker 2: see that the government and the Department are progressing and
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  Speaker 2: looking after their welfare.
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  Speaker 1: Erina, what small steps could the Government and the Department
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  Speaker 1: be taking immediately to prevent this from happening.
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  Speaker 2: I think what they could do, Katie's actually go through
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  Speaker 2: the risk assessment in twenty nineteen, allow us to see
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  Speaker 2: some of them, or eve an executive summary from the
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  Speaker 2: three reports that were done after the riot. Let's sit
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  Speaker 2: down and let's look at some of these recommendations which
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  Speaker 2: we could do, which are cost effective. We have some
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  Speaker 2: maybe have some other creative ideas how to deal these matters.
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  Speaker 2: Not everything costs heaps of money, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: But so really this needs to happen as a matter
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  Speaker 1: of urgency. By the sounds of an eerona like this
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  Speaker 1: week or potentially we're going to see those correction staff striking.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, they're going to be walking off with their safety.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, it's you know, it's it's quite a big step
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  Speaker 1: to take, and certainly it would it would mean that
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  Speaker 1: it's going to be a difficult situation within the prison.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Erina, I am going to move along because,
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  Speaker 1: as we've heard this morning, Opposition leader Leofanocchiaro is calling
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  Speaker 1: on the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner to are allegations that
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  Speaker 1: members of the Labor Party are embroiled in a cocaine
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  Speaker 1: sex scandal. Now, Erina, you are the Labor Party President.
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  Speaker 1: Are you aware of these allegations?
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  Speaker 2: Thanks, Katie. I am aware of these allegations that I've
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  Speaker 2: ald have heard from the Anti News and other social
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  Speaker 2: media avenues. Is I don't really know much what's going on,
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  Speaker 2: to be honest, but I'm hoping to meet with the
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  Speaker 2: Chief Minister today or tomorrow in regards to these allegations.
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  Speaker 1: Should the Chief Minister be addressing these allegations do you think, oh.
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  Speaker 2: Well, if he doesn't address them, people will jump up
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  Speaker 2: and down. But I think anything that could impact the
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  Speaker 2: integrity of the party does need to be in dressed.
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  Speaker 1: So I mean, if there has been the use of
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  Speaker 1: illicit substances, should those involved be stood down?
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  Speaker 2: I can't really comment on that, Katie. As a working
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  Speaker 2: for a union and myself, we always have to make
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  Speaker 2: sure that we've got all the facts before you pursue
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  Speaker 2: a matter, especially something serious like this.
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  Speaker 1: Erina, is there an issue with illicit substances within the.
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  Speaker 2: Party, Not that I'm aware of, Katie. I attended many
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  Speaker 2: party events, and to be honest, I've never seen anything.
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  Speaker 1: Well erin early President of the Labor Party of course,
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  Speaker 1: but also the United Workers Union secretary. I really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thank you very much for chatting
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  Speaker 1: with me.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Nie, have a lovely day you too.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. You're listening to Mix one O four point
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  Speaker 1: nine three sixty