Prison officers at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre have opened up about chronic burnout, bed shortages and family breakdowns during a 12-hour work stoppage in protest of the NT government's proposed four-year wage freeze.
The industrial action follows a strike at the Darwin correctional facility on Monday.
Corrections officer and union delegate Allan Bosel said the pay freeze for public servants was unfair given the risks of the job amid chronic staff shortages.
The NT Government said 633 inmates were being housed at the facility, which has capacity for 650.
The centre was chronically understaffed, he said, and estimated 50 more guards were needed to meet demand.
"It's mentally draining, so being short on the roster means you work extra shifts, and without those breaks it does pile up and burns people out."
Commissioner Matthew Varley said COVID 19 related border closures and lockdowns had made it challenging for his office to "balance normal attrition rates".
"Recruitment and retention of staff based in regional areas has always been a challenge in the Territory," he said.
Commissioner Varley said nine new correctional officers were in training for the facility — a process that takes 12 months.
Prison must stay open
Mr Bosel said the lack of breaks and difficulty filling shifts put those who did come to work at risk, because demand for guards did not fluctuate even if staff numbers did.
"It's the worst I've known it to be," the guard of eight years said.
He said the guard population was tired and over-worked, which meant officers could make mistakes or miss incidents, exposing officers and prisoners to possible interpersonal violence.
The prison experienced three riots in one day recently, and reduced numbers made it extremely difficult to contain those incidents, Mr Bosel said.
Chronic understaffing was also taking a toll on prisoners, he added.
"If we're really understaffed for a day, prisoners get locked down."
Without enough staff, Mr Bosel said, extracurricular programs and programs inmates needed to complete to access parole were sometimes cancelled.
Asking for 3 per cent a year
United Voice NT branch secretary Erina Early said the 600 prisoners in the facility were being guarded by senior staff and an emergency response team while the work stoppage took place in front of the facility.
She said correctional staff wanted a wage increase in recognition of the risks they faced at work.
"Anything under 3 per cent [a year] will not be satisfactory for correctional officers," Ms Early said.
She said negotiations with the government were ongoing and that the union would continue to strike if talks did not progress.
"We're talking about having rolling work stoppages until basically they come back to the table and start listening to the workers in corrections."
