The BCGEU is calling on the Alberta government to negotiate with striking correctional officers. The strike began Friday when officers at a remand centre in Edmonton refused to report for work citing safety concerns in the facility.

The strike spread to other corrections centres over the weekend. Today sheriffs, court clerks and reporters and social workers walked off the job as a show of support for striking corrections officers.

“Alberta’s correctional officers have raised legitimate and long-standing concerns about the health and safety conditions they face inside the province’s prisons. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has a series of proposals to address their safety concerns. The government of Alberta should sit down and negotiate immediately,” says BCGEU president Darryl Walker.

BCGEU Corrections and Sheriffs Services Component Chair Dean Purdy, Local 103 Chair Brian Campbell and BCGEU Director David Vipond are in Edmonton today to show BCGEU support for the striking corrections officers.

“B.C.’s correctional officers understand all too well the working conditions officers in Alberta are facing. Their safety concerns are very real and should not be ignored. The best way to solve the current situation is for both sides to negotiate a meaningful solution,” says Purdy.