Community Corrections staff reject pay offer, not ruling out strike action

“Underpaid and overworked” community corrections staff – the lowest paid government workers and the majority female – have rejected a low ball offer and are not ruling out industrial action, says their union.

“An administrative officer can be on as low as $46,000. Some have been on that for years, so for them to reject any pay offer in a cost of living crisis highlights the strength of their resolution in getting unfair pay urgently addressed,” said Josephine O’Connor, who is leading the bargaining talks at the Public Service Association, Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

Eighteen hundred people from Community Corrections are members of PSA, and 67% are female. Three thousand staff work in Community Corrections across Aotearoa.

After eight months of negotiation, an offer of 4.7% in the first year and 3% in the second year had been rejected by an overwhelming majority,” O’Connor said.

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Workers in Community Corrections, operating with “skeleton staff” were not progressing from their already low starting rates, with one member being at $46000 for 11 years, O’Connor said. Their competency-based pay system differed from custodial Corrections workers, which they said was unfair given understaffing and high workloads.

Many “underpaid and overworked” staff are graduates or post-graduates with qualifications in criminology, and very experienced, she said.

“Community Corrections has the lowest paid staff in the public service, yet they perform some of the most skilled and demanding work with the people of highest risk to the safety of communities.”

Understaffing in Corrections staff in prisons has recently been in the spotlight, with fatigue caused by bigger workloads and larger prisoner populations pushing experienced staff out of the profession.

Since the department’s recent $2.5 million recruitment drive, staff shortages have widened, and only one prison, Christchurch women’s prison, is fully staffed, Stuff reported this week.

The recruitment drive’s focus on prisons and its well documented recruitment woes had overlooked Community Corrections, O’Connor said.

“Corrections is facing an unprecedented staffing crisis and this offer does nothing to improve that situation. People who have been with Corrections through thick and thin, through Covid and further back, are being offered pay increases of 4.7% in the first year of this collective and 3% in the second year, following on from 1-2% increases in 2020 and 2021.”

Community Corrections works with more than 31,000 people who are in the care of Corrections in the community. They work in courts, specialist residential services, and with people leaving prison. They currently manage more than 30,000 community sentences and orders, and 7000 electronically monitored sentences.

PSA and the Department of Corrections will continue to hold talks. PSA was considering its next steps and was not ruling out industrial action.

Richard Waggott, deputy chief executive people and capability at Corrections said the department acknowledged comments made by some staff members following the rejection of the latest pay offer.

“Our staff do a job that very few others would choose to do, working with some of the most vulnerable and complex people in our communities. We have always valued and thanked our staff for what they do on a daily basis, and their contribution to keeping the public and our communities safe.”

He said public safety was a top priority and the department had contingency plans in the event of any strike.

“We have been facing staffing shortages across many of our prisons, and this has impacted our ability to fully resume access to rehabilitation and education programmes, training and education, in-person visits, and provide longer unlock hours. For this reason, our recent recruitment campaign has focused on addressing this shortage. However, we are also continuing our recruitment activity across all areas, including Community Corrections.

“We are continuing to bargain with the PSA and it, therefore, wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment further.”