Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Correctional Services Union member Allan Bosell calls in from the frontline of the strike action in Alice Springs, with COs demanding better wage and working conditions

Transcript

Correctional Services Union member Allan Bosell calls in from the frontline of the strike action in Alice Springs, with COs demanding better wage and working conditions · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: As I mentioned, we know that some of our correctional
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: officers in Alice Springs are indeed taking industrial action today
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: around their pay and conditions and joining me, excuse me
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: on the line right now is Alan Bosel, Northern Territory
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: correction Union member. Good morning to you.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Allan, good morning, thanks for having me.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us. Sorry just having a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: quiet cough there, Alan, tell us a little bit about
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: why you are taking that industrial action today.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: We're taking the union action today because of the government's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: wage frees for four years and a major short staff
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: out here at ASCC and the dangers that implies and
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: the risks that we take every days as prison of mate.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Tell me a little bit more about, you know, the
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: short staffing, particularly at the Alice Springs facility.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: So you know, over the years as a prison of
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: a certain risk that you take every day. You don't
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: really know that you can do the job unless you
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: actually try to do the job. And we all understand
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: that the problem is is our attention of staff and
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: the department's ability to put courses on and get people
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: and advertise for this job. You know, at the moment
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: we currently stand at just under fifty officers off our roster.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: So what that does is put extra pressure on all
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the other officers because we're all doing so much over
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: time and you don't want to leave your fellow workis
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: short stuff in the environment that we work in.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Does it also, I mean, does it concern you in
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  Speaker 1: the sense that, like those safety concerns as well, depending
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: on how many officers you've got on shift.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, And you know it's something that we battle every
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: day and you don't really know until you come in
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  Speaker 2: and yeah, it's a serious concern. And you know, to
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: add flavor to it, this four you wage freeze. You know,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: the government just doesn't accept the risks that we take
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: as being a correction Losso with that.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Wage freeze, how does it then sort of compare you
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: guys to the way in which correctional staff are paid
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: in other states and territories.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Well, for a while there, I think years ago, corrections
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: officers here were paid a little bit higher percentages rate
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: than some of the other areas because they needed to
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: attract people to stay in such a remote place like
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: our springs. And now through those battles being in the
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: prison OFSS Association in Australia, other correctional losses have come
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: on to line and got paid pay rises, and Queensland
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  Speaker 2: corrections have just got nearly a twenty percent pay rise.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, so our brothers and sisters in other
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  Speaker 2: states are getting a fair day's pay for a fair
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: day's work in a risky job. And everybody understands those risks.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: But you know, it's got to be a balance, and
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: it's just unacceptable to ask people to not have a
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: pay rise. We've all got families, we've all got bills,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: and everything increases with that. And we're not even asking
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: for a crazy increase. I mean, I think two point
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: five percent a year is a much to ask. I
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: think it's an insult mate.
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  Speaker 1: So what needs to happen here? What do you reckon
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: needs to happen?
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  Speaker 2: Well, first of all, the government needs to accept the
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  Speaker 2: risk and accept the risk that people take for the
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: jobs that they do, and especially here in our springs
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: with all the other things that have gone on. Nobody
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: wants to come to our springs because of all the
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: things that are happened in our springs. So we don't
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: know all the answers, but we're always open the negotiations
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: and we're always wanting to talk to them, and we're
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: always trying to give them ideas the gun And government
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: needs to understand, and we just hope that they get
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: the message that me and my fellow officers are sending
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: them here today.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Well, Allan, I appreciate your time this morning, and jar
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: let us know how it all goes. It's going to
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: be interesting. I think next week, obviously we know the
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory budgets handed down exactly what gets announced, but
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I think yesterday as well, finding out that those interest
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: rates are going up, and you know, part of the
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: reason for that is that there's going to be wage
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: increases across the board, is what it had sort of
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  Speaker 1: been said when the Reserve Bank announced that, but you
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: know for some of our public servants that's not going
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: to be the case.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Well, you're right. And one of the things too, that
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: is an interesting thing to have a look at is
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: that the nt are actually on the lower scale of
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: all wage increases across the nation. So if that doesn't
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: send a message to the Gunner government, I really don't
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: know what does.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Well, Allan, I appreciate your time this morning. Let us
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: know how it all goes, mate, But thanks for having
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: a chat with us.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you very much.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: No worries,