Prison Officers at the Clarence Correctional Centre near Grafton will strike on Friday over safety concerns and poor pay rates.
Officers at the centre, which includes a maximum-security division, are the worst paid in the country and are regularly asked to work half staffed.
The Centre is privately run by multinational Serco.
Officers are paid $26.88 an hour and have been negotiating for two years for a new pay deal with Serco.
Officers in the public system get $31.00 as a starting rate. A Bunnings Grade 2A retail worker gets $26.31 an hour.
PSA Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright says sadly many members on site would be better off at Bunnings.
"These highly trained Officers come face to face with the most dangerous criminals in this state every day, yet they are paid like they work at Bunnings," says Troy Wright.
"Which would you prefer; dealing with murderers, rapists and paedophiles or guiding customers through the latest drill range?
"For many of our members it's Bunnings or the Big House. Simple as that. I know which I'd choose. This is dangerous and stressful work. And they do it to keep the community safe.
"These Officers have been bargaining in good faith with Serco for two years yet the only offer they have, $28 an hour, will still see them the lowest paid Prison Officers in the country.
"These men and women working in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable are being duded $30 or $40 a day. After a while that starts to add up.
"Because of the dismal pay Serco can't recruit staff, or retain them, which means the gaol is regularly alarmingly short staffed.
"At night-time up to 15 Prison Officers can be onsite, some nights there are four.
"And it affects the whole community.
"We estimate if Serco did the right thing, it's another $2 million a year going into the local economy.
"That's $2 million to the local café, grocer, and sports store.
"Meanwhile Serco is making mega profits off the taxpayer.
"This is the largest gaol in the country yet instead of nourishing the local community money is being siphoned off and divvied up in boardrooms in New York or London.
"The Clarence Correctional Centre is dangerously unstable and becoming unsafe for staff and nearby residents," says Troy Wright PSA Assistant General Secretary.
Strike action on Friday will mean the gaol will go into lockdown with inmates unable to leave their cells for any reason.
Striking Prison Officers will rally at 9am this Friday September 30th 2022 at the Truck Drivers Memorial Park next to the Caltex South Grafton, Big River Way (access via Federation Street).
