Warning: Graphic content
Correctional officers across NSW have been ordered back to work after a snap strike triggered when an inmate who bashed four guards was spared a prison.
Four guards at Cessnock correctional facility were assaulted in February by Cameron Welsh, who was awaiting sentencing on another charge at the time. All officers sustained injuries to their faces, and two will most likely never return to work, the Public Service Association said.
The magistrate gave Welsh a three-year community corrections order with no custodial sentence on Wednesday.
The walk-off began with Cessnock and Bathurst guards on Thursday morning, with officers from the state’s other 34 public prisons to follow, the union said. The Industrial Relations Court heard evidence from Corrective Services NSW that the walk-out meant remaining staff were left to work around-the-clock shifts to keep inmates safe and attend to medical needs.
The union said members would not return from the planned 48-hour strike until prosecutors lodged an appeal against Welsh’s sentence.
The court ordered the union to stop all industrial action relating to the Welsh case by 6am on Friday.
“In giving Mr Welsh a slap on the wrist, this magistrate has delivered a slap in the face to every prison officer in this state who keeps our community safe from those who’ve forfeited their right to walk amongst us,” Public Service Association president Nicole Jess said before the court hearing.
Prisoners were put into lockdown on Thursday and kept in their cells with only senior staff remaining. The industrial action has also affected the courts: some matters were unable to continue as scheduled without correctional staff to facilitate inmates’ appearances in court.
