PBCAP Consultative Meeting
The POVB State Executive meet with Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) management fortnightly for a PBCAP Consultative. We wish to praise and thank all POVB Delegates and members who have elected to sit on local PBCAP Committees at your centre. We ask all POVB members to be supportive of those who have chosen to represent the POVB as they try to get the best possible outcome for your centre.
CSNSW and the NSW Government have made the reforms that have been presented to each centre, and collectively the POVB will continue to fight for safe work places by ensuring we have adequate staffing levels in all Correctional Centres in NSW.
The POVB enter consultation with CSNSW in ‘good faith’. Unfortunately, what is sometimes said or promised by management in consultation is not delivered by CSNSW. It is important to record all statements that are made by management throughout the consultation in an assumptions document and have those agreements placed in an annexure of the Management Plan.
It is also unfortunate that CSNSW cannot provide a reasonable level of detail of the public works, new programs or cohort of inmates in the consultation phase, but expect the local PBCAP Committee to put forward a staffing profile based on many assumptions. Examples of capital works are Dawn De Loas, MSPC and LBH. We have been told millions of dollars will be spent on various projects for several months, and again yesterday told the details will be coming soon.
New programs such as Mental Health Step Down in both Maximum and Minimum security environments and Aged and Frail have been spoken about in presentations state-wide. However, the POVB has received no further detail to what impact and expectation CSNSW has for Correctional Officers involvement in those areas. We have raised on numerous occasions over several months, but to date we have only be told, the details are coming.
Consultation regarding the cohort of inmates is questionable and CSNSW has demonstrated that it will go through weeks or months of consultation, stating a particular cohort of inmate will be housed in a Correctional Centre only to change the classification of inmate after consultation has concluded and staffing levels have been agreed upon. This happened at Emu Plains, and this issue was resolved in yesterday’s meeting where it was agreed that only female inmates with a 6.2 classification will be housed in the centre as per consultation. The POVB will monitor this issue regarding having the appropriate staffing levels for the cohort of inmates negotiated through consultation.
A large number of staff have been redeployed due to PBCAP reforms. The POVB State Executive has been working closely with affected Members and HR to ensure the best outcomes for placement of staff. A very high percentage of staff have been placed in their first preference through the HR process. We continue to work with HR and our members who are not yet placed. We expect normal HR processes to resume now that displaced staff have been made offers for placement. Casual to Ongoing and SCO talent pools will be utilised to fill all remaining substantive vacancies state-wide.
A large number of staff have been redeployed to Dillwynia CC in line with the opening of the new build. Staff have commenced training in the centre. Throughout consultation, the POVB have raised the issue of staff being put on a five-day roster for the four-week training period and only receiving a flat pay due to being rostered only day shifts throughout that period. We raised that staff would be disadvantaged financially and could they be placed on the Cyclic Roster. We raised this again at PBCAP consultative meeting on Monday 26 October and Director John Harrison announced that staff would receive an additional payment which would be an average of shift penalties to compensate staff throughout the training period. This information was passed on to staff who were obviously pleased with the outcome. The POVB requested some further details on how the payment would be calculated.
At yesterday’s PBCAP Consultative this issue was placed on the agenda and Director John Harrison informed us that the payment would not be made as the request for staff to be paid the additional payment was not approved by Communities and Justice shared services. This is another example of broken promises made by CSNSW and we have expressed our disappointment that we were only informed after staff have already commenced training on a five-day flat pay for the four-week period.
The POVB will continue to consult in ‘good faith’ but strongly encourage all PBCAP local committees to record all statements or promises made by Management on an assumptions document throughout consultation so they can be formalised into agreements in Centre Management Plans.
As further information is provided by CSNSW, we will continue to inform members via bulletin.
Contact details
Nicole Jess Chairperson
0427 609 199
Jason Charlton Vice Chairperson
0401 500 976
Amanda Cotter Secretary
0404 042 600
Thor Sutherland Assistant Secretary
0447 633 476
Darren King Country Vice Chair
0407 935 039
Natalie Howes Country Vice Chair
0407 011 441
David McCauley POVB Industrial Officer
0419 022 767
David Bartle POVB Industrial Officer
0418 425 976
Trish O’Brien Welfare Officer
0412 120 391