Bimberi prison staff walk off over unpaid security checks
Youth workers at Canberra's Bimberi Youth Justice Centre struck for an hour. They protested over 15 to 20 minutes of unpaid daily security procedures.
Staff at Bimberi Youth Justice Centre walked off the job for an hour on Tuesday. They protested over pay and conditions in a dispute that has gone on for a year.
Workers say they spend 15 to 20 minutes each shift on required tasks. They lock away phones, pass through airport-style security, and collect keys and radios before their 12-hour shifts start.
Bimberi staff receive no pay for this time. Security procedures happen when staff enter and leave the lunch room.
These take up half of their one-hour meal break. Union members rejected the government's offer to pay them for part of the security time.
Colleagues at the adult Alexander Maconochie Centre are preparing to strike too. Staff also report frequent assaults by young people armed with makeshift weapons including shivs.
- 15 to 20 minutes
- Unpaid daily time
- Half of one-hour break
- Meal break consumed by security
- One year
- Dispute duration
- Maddy Northam
- Union secretary
Why it mattersWorkers are demanding fair pay for required work. The strikes risk disrupting care for young people in the justice system. These young people depend on stable staffing.
AustraliaCanberra's youth and adult prisons face potential service disruption while negotiations continue with the ACT government over worker pay and conditions.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
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