Not my problem: Elliott side-steps employment guarantee for Parklea prison staff
29 March 2018
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Minister for Corrective Services, David Elliott, has dodged responsibility for Parklea prison staff jobs, telling the CPSU NSW that staff transfer arrangements were a matter for Corrective Services NSW.
In a recent meeting with CPSU NSW Assistant State Branch Secretary, Troy Wright and Parklea delegate, Mark Ward, the Minister insisted employment matters, including job security guarantees, were beyond his control. He suggested the union was better off discussing the issue with Commissioner for Corrective Services NSW, Peter Severin.
鈥淲ith respect to the Minister, it鈥檚 difficult to take the comments seriously,鈥 said Troy. 鈥淚f we look at the NSW Government鈥檚 recent privatisation of its disability services, for instance, the government made it a condition that any company awarded a contract for the service had to take on all casual, fixed-term and permanent operational staff.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 seriously expect us to believe it鈥檚 beyond the Minister鈥檚 power to act and protect the employment of GEO鈥檚 Parklea staff.鈥听
Following last Tuesday鈥檚 meeting with the Minister, CPSU NSW State Branch Secretary, Stewart Little, met with Commissioner Severin yesterday to clarify the Department鈥檚 role in managing the tender process on behalf of the NSW Government.
To his credit, Commissioner Severin acknowledged current Parklea staff needed certainty in relation to their employment and this would be critical to ensuring a smooth transition to a new operator.
While Commissioner Severin was unwilling to commit to an employment guarantee, he said the transitional arrangements were yet to be finalised 鈥 with an announcement expected in September. But all three of the remaining bidders had identified the CPSU NSW as the key stakeholder going forward and were eager to begin consultations with the union.
The CPSU NSW warned that unless there was reasonable certainty for all Parklea prison staff, we would fight hard for our members鈥 jobs.