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Speaker 1: Well, we've covered quite extensively this week and last week

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Speaker 1: the changes to correctional services and the privatization of some

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Speaker 1: areas of corrections. There's been real concerns raised by correctional

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Speaker 1: officers and yesterday they converged on Parliament House to make

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Speaker 1: their voices heard. Now joining me on the line is

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Speaker 1: the United werkans Union NI secretary Erina Early. Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, Erina, morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How many do you reckon you had there yesterday to

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Speaker 1: really try to make their concerns heard.

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Speaker 2: Well, we had depends who's counted, we had between fifty

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Speaker 2: to sixty officers. We took up all one side of

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Speaker 2: the public gallery and.

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Speaker 1: What played out? What was the aim?

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Speaker 2: So the thing is, Katie, they were really upset about

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Speaker 2: as we know, we've had previous discussions about these amendments.

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Speaker 2: The minister has not met with us, who's refused to

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Speaker 2: meet with us the officers that we want to go

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Speaker 2: down to Parliament and so we can actually have a

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Speaker 2: present so the minister can see that we are upset.

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Speaker 1: Now, what's the response been from the corrections minister? Have

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Speaker 1: you heard anything so far? Well?

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Speaker 2: Interesting you say that, Katie, just a few minutes ago,

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Speaker 2: we got an email from the corrections advisor to the

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Speaker 2: Minister saying the Minister won't be meeting with us and

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Speaker 2: we must prefer it back to Commission of Ali.

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Speaker 1: Oh, so we won't meet with you.

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Speaker 2: No, why he reckons Commission of Arli is better to

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Speaker 2: deal with this matter than him, And why.

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Speaker 1: Do you guys feel that that's not the case. Why

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Speaker 1: would you prefer the year of the minister.

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Speaker 2: Well, as you know, Katie, is that our members are

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Speaker 2: going to be putting a voter no confidence against Commission

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Speaker 2: of Ali Theraetician goes out this week. But also too,

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Speaker 2: they want to meet with the minister. The Minister hasn't

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Speaker 2: met with them, hasn't discussed these changes and how these

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Speaker 2: changes are impacting the officers. They still really let down

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Speaker 2: for someone they actually voted in and supported.

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Speaker 1: So we're two at this point. Is there going to

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Speaker 1: be industrial action? I know you mentioned then that vote

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Speaker 1: of no confidence? How will all of that work?

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Speaker 2: So what we're doing, Katie, We're having some more MATH

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Speaker 2: member meetings over the next week here in Darwin and

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Speaker 2: Alice Springs, and we'll be talking to our officers in

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Speaker 2: Berkeley and Gover as well. Decide what we're going to do.

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Speaker 2: There is a big outcry from officers about their work

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Speaker 2: healthare safety, that they're prior to do the right thing

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Speaker 2: by corrections and the government to help them out. But

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Speaker 2: they said they're not going to be risking their lives anymore,

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Speaker 2: all right.

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Speaker 1: So in terms of the vote of no confidence, like

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Speaker 1: you said, there's going to be those mass member meetings

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Speaker 1: now over the coming days if that vote of no

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Speaker 1: confidence happens, when are you anticipating it's going to happen.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're going to put the petition out, Katie. We

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Speaker 2: need to be sure we get the majority of officers

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Speaker 2: supporting it. And then once we've got that petition, so

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Speaker 2: we're looking at probably them by the end of next week,

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Speaker 2: we'll be handing that to the minister.

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Speaker 1: Now, what about the possibility of industrial action and striking.

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Speaker 2: So the industrial action only can do with an enterprise agreement.

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Speaker 2: It starts for another about three or four months. It

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Speaker 2: is enterprise agreement season this year, so under work health

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Speaker 2: and safety, so it's not industrial action. If they're concerned

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Speaker 2: and for genuine concern for their safety, officers can take

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Speaker 2: measures to alleviate that risk. So it could be a

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Speaker 2: walk off. It is something they're talking about, but it

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Speaker 2: will be only under the conditions of work health and safety.

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Speaker 1: All right, So we'll keep an eye on that as well.

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Speaker 1: Now I understand yesterday when the Correctional Services staff were

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Speaker 1: there that the Speaker put a notice forward. What does

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Speaker 1: that mean?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was interesting case. So we've got notified by

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Speaker 2: security that from now on the Speaker has just put

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Speaker 2: our a notice that any protest groups have to give

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Speaker 2: forty out and forty eight hours notice to the minister.

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Speaker 2: And we weren't a protest group. These were public servants

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Speaker 2: coming to the public gallery to hear about their legislation

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Speaker 2: that is going to impact them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So you guys didn't don't consider yourselves like

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Speaker 1: you don't consider that you were there sort of to protest.

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Speaker 2: No, none at all. There were rally, there was no yelling.

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Speaker 2: They were very professional. We all met outside and then

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Speaker 2: we all went in as a group and they sat

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Speaker 2: in the gallery. They were very respectful. It was very

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Speaker 2: hard for them to be respectful and then made left.

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Speaker 2: We're only there for about twenty minutes and.

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Speaker 1: Left, right, So so where to I guess from here?

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Speaker 1: If you do need to give those forty eight hours

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Speaker 1: notice in future.

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Speaker 2: Well, from a union perspective, we're not going to give

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Speaker 2: that forty I would notice, Katie. I think that's completely unacceptable.

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Speaker 2: These are public sector workers and anyone should be able

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Speaker 2: to go to the public gallery. It's our government, so

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Speaker 2: we should be able to go in there.

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Speaker 1: Larna. It sounds like you know, there is still quite

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Speaker 1: a bit to play out in this space. You know

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Speaker 1: that legislation, as I understand it was introduced to Parliament

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Speaker 1: yesterday or today, I should say, I think it is today. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so it's there's going to be quite a bit to

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Speaker 1: play out, I would imagine. So I reckon you and

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Speaker 1: I are going to be talking again, probably very soon.

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Speaker 2: Oh absolutely absolutely we will.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you for your time this morning. I

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Speaker 1: appreciate it.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, have a great day you too,