A big win in the NT

For more than six years the 23 permanent and 15 casual staff had worked without meal breaks, or payment in lieu of meal breaks.
But, led by CPSU delegate Troy Walsh, staff last week won back pay worth more than $600,000 for non-payment of these meal allowances as well as a new roster system that is friendlier to workers.

Mr Walsh said the department had agreed to pay 23 permanent workers their back pay. The CPSU estimates some members who have been with the agency for six or more years could receive a payment in the vicinity of $20,000. Another 120 workers who were casuals or former staff could proceed with claims of back pay.

Mr Walsh said he became a CPSU delegate in October 2008 to try to do something about the 10.5 hour shifts over seven days in a row which staff were being asked to work. He discovered a 2004 report by the Northern Territory Department of Justice had recommended worker-friendly changes. Nothing, however, had been done.

With the assistance of the CPSU NT Regional Director, Paul Morris, Mr Walsh engaged in negotiations with management, including a new executive director of Northern Territory Correctional Services, Ken Middlebrook, and things have improved dramatically.

Staff at the detention centre for boys and girls under 18 at Berrimah Prison near Darwin now work eight-hour shifts under rosters that are set months in advance and they receive time for 30-minute breaks after five hours of work.

"It has made it a lot better for all of us," said Mr Walsh. "It has put the spotlight on our workplace and our conditions are so much better now.

"The experience has given me faith in the idea of one person being able to make a difference."