Daily London
An urgent hearing is under way in an attempt to force prison officers back to work after they walked off the job across NSW over the “slap on the wrist” punishment handed to an inmate who assaulted four colleagues.
Prison officers at Cessnock and Bathurst correctional centres have stopped work, with officers at all 36 of the state’s other prisons expected to follow suit.
The walkout will leave the Local, District and Supreme courts all unable to function and mean prisoners will be locked in their cells.
Cameron Welsh, now 27, attacked four prison officers in February at the Cessnock Correctional Centre, resulting in multiple facial injuries.
9News has obtained exclusive vision of the brutal attack.
The footage depicts Welsh approaching a prison officer and throwing multiple punches before other officers stepped in to intervene.
They were also attacked by the inmate.
All four officers were hospitalised, and the union said two would never work again.
Welsh was later transferred to Goulburn’s Supermax prison and isolated from other inmates.
He was convicted yesterday of four counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and inflicting actual bodily harm.
He was given a three-year community corrections order and did not have extra time added to his sentence by a magistrate, meaning he could be freed in the coming days or weeks.
The NSW government is working to reach an agreement to call off the walkout.
“I want to reiterate that the government values the hard work of all our correctional officers who often work in very difficult and hostile environments,” Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.
“However, the government also believes that an independent judiciary decision of a local court is not the basis for a statewide industrial strike.”
The union said Welsh “has a history of violence” after being arrested in 2023 for bashing two men with a baseball bat in the Hunter.
“This tells the community it’s okay to bash prison officers, that you won’t be punished if you do, and you’ll be able to return to the community,” Public Service Association president Nicole Jess said.
Jess herself is a sworn prison officer.
“In giving Mr Welsh a slap on the wrist, this magistrate has delivered a slap in the face to every prison officer in this state who keep our community safe from those who’ve forfeited their right to walk amongst us,” she said.
“Prison officers are absolutely livid about this and expect immediate action from the Minns government.”
Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said he was shocked at the magistrate’s ruling.
“My phone has gone into meltdown, I’ve had prison officers ringing me all day, absolutely incandescent with rage at the signal this magistrate has sent to the community.
“The attorney-general better get himself out of whatever meeting or media opportunity or announcement he’s currently engaged in and get this solved or else the state’s prison system is going to go into meltdown.”
“Correctional Services across NSW are secure and safe. We have skeleton staff on the ground providing all the essential services to keep prisoners within the system safe,” Deputy Minister for Corrections Services Leon Taylor said.
“Inmates will be locked in cells for the duration of the industrial action.
“We need our boots on the ground to keep the system operating and to keep prisoners and staff safe.”
The NSW opposition said the government had lost the trust of the prison workforce.
“When the people who keep our prisons safe say they’ve lost faith in the government, it’s a damning indictment on leadership,” Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said.
“This strike is not about pay, it’s about safety, respect, and a government that has stopped listening.”
