Hundreds of NSW prison officers have moved onto mainstream industrial awards after union members voted to rescind their existing award.

About 800 officers at Kempsey, Dillwynia, Wellington and John Morony prisons, who have been on a special award for 15 years, have now joined the Crown Employees Correctional Officers Award, in line with staff at other prisons.

The state government says it abolishes a system that had them working under different conditions in what was essentially a two-tier system.

“The move will help the centres attract and retain officers, including senior staff who would’ve previously lost entitlements if they’d have transferred to any of the four centres,” CSNSW Commissioner Kevin Corcoran said.

Union claims victory

The change is something the union representing NSW public servants has long been pushing for, PSA President and chairperson of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch Nicole Jess told Government News.

Ms Jess said the old award dated back to the establishment of the centres in 2007, when the union was asked to choose between the jails being privatised or a ‘cost saving’ award.

They went with the cost saving award, believing it would become standard for all new prisons, but have been fighting for change since the government decided not to go down that path.

Ms Jess says among other minor changes, boots-on-the-ground officers will get better overtime for working weekends under their new award.

“Now there’s an incentive to work on a weekend, which means less weekend lockdowns,” Ms Jess said.

However the changes have forced Corrective Services to find savings, which CSNW has done by deleting a number of vacant roles, removing some allowances and cutting days off for current senior executive group (SEAG) level employees when a public holiday falls on a weekend.

Ninety-eight per cent of members voted in favour of rescinding the old KDWJ award late last year and the change was formalised by the IRC last Friday.