By Bryan Eneas

Sask. Pen employees mobilize in protest of contract negotiation

Aug 15, 2017 | 2:29 PM

Staff at federal penitentiaries have spent three years at the bargaining table and are now mobilizing to voice their frustration. 

Today, Aug. 15, marks 38 months of negotiations between the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO) and the Treasury Board Secretariat. 

Outside of the Saskatchewan Penitentiary today cars were lined up waiting to enter the parking lot. A small contingent of people were handing flyers to every vehicle which entered the grounds of the prison.

“At this point we don’t have much movement from the other side of the table,” James Bloomfield, the president of the Prairies region for UCCO said. “At this point they’re definitely not meeting the needs of the correctional officers in this country.”

Bloomfield said corrections officers are different from other public service groups because officers’ duties include the jobs of paramedics, firefighters and police inside the walls of the Sask. Penitentiary.

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“We definitely need a contract to represent our needs and there’s stuff very specifically, such as PTSD,” Bloomfield said. “The rates for PTSD for [male] officers are at 36 per cent now as reported by the Correctional Services of Canada.”

He said there’s currently nothing in negotiations to help with the rates of PTSD and there is no mandate for the Treasury Board of Canada to help corrections officers with mental health.

Other key points in negotiations for UCCO include wages, injuries on duty, treatment by management and exposure to fentanyl and other harmful substances.

Bloomfield said similar mobilization movements took place across the country.

“We will continue to do more mobilization efforts to jolt the employer into moving forward, and hopefully move to a resolution in our contract,” Bloomfield said. “Realistically at 38 months, this is ridiculous.”

The Treasury Board Secretariat’s website states the official agreement with the UCCO ended in May of 2014 and the next negotiation will take place May 2017.

An email from officials within the board said the organization doesn’t usually comment on labour negotiations “out of respect for the process.”

paNOW was unable to obtain further comment from the Treasury Board Secretariat regarding the status of negotiations.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas