Members of the component executive met with Pete Coulson the Provincial Director of the Adult Custody Division, all wardens of provincial jails, and other corrections officials at an Article 3.1 joint union/ management meeting on December 9 at the Victoria Area Office.

There was a lengthy agenda and a number of issues were discussed, including the overcrowding of provincial jails.

While the union supports the move by the government to consult on the building of a new jail in the Okanagan, the union underlined the need for consultation with community groups. Dean Purdy, chair of the component, pointed out that the BCGEU has been raising concerns about overcrowded jails for months and has pointed to other problems in the correctional system.

The current inmate counts have been running at close to 200 percent over capacity, and with the addition of the Tamil migrants housed in the facilities, the percentage is even higher.

The North Fraser Pretrial Centre (NFPC) has staff ratios as high as one staff for every 60 inmates with staff working alone in living units, and a count that averages well in excess of 600 inmates in a jail that was built to house 300.

"We are especially concerned that gang violence is on the rise in B.C.," said Purdy. " It only stands to reason it is spilling over to our correctional centres. The NFPC has had 31 staff assaults over the past two years and three in the last three weeks."

"Although we think that building an additional two new jails is absolutely necessary, this still means we are three to five years away before any changes are made," said Purdy. "An immediate solution to the problem is putting two staff in every living unit."

The union also raised the issue of staffing levels at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre. Although it is still unclear what the inmate-to-staff ratio will be, it was confirmed that the units in the SPSC addition will have 36 cells and 72 beds.

"We made it clear that if there are any plans to house the units with only one staff member that this would be unacceptable," Purdy said. " Management confirmed at this meeting that we would not see ratios of 72 to 1."

Federal crime legislation: The federal government's new "tough on crime" legislation will have an impact on inmate counts. Bill C-25 is expected to add an additional 600 inmates, while the union's research suggests that the overall prison population could increase by an additional 900 inmates.

"We are already starting to see the impact of Bill C-25," said Purdy.

Double staff escorts remand inmates: The union also said there was too much ambiguity on classifying inmates for escorts between correctional officers and supervisors and centre to centre, and has requested that all remand inmates be double-staffed.

Rotational lock-ups: The union suggested that there be a policy in place for rotational lock-ups that would mean locking up half the inmates and rotating them every hour.

Exemplary Service Medal: There was a frank exchange of views on the need for more correctional officers to be able to receive exemplary service medals, especially for those officers who have served over 20 years. While no conclusion was reached, the union will continue to advocate for this.

Wages: B.C. Correctional Officers have slipped down the wage scale again and have fallen behind Newfoundland.
In the recent meeting with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Purdy pointed out that correctional officers are sliding down the wage scale and this is problematic.

"We should be in 2nd or 3rd place from a bargaining standpoint," said Purdy. "We continue to be $14,000 behind our Federal counterparts as well. This is a future bargaining issue."

Minister's meeting: Purdy reported on the union's recent meeting with the minister. "While we look forward to the consultations, there are other issues the minister must address," said Purdy. "The government policy of having one correctional officer working alone in a living unit with 60 inmates is far too dangerous and has to change.

"In our meeting with the minister, he agreed to review the policy on staff-to-inmate ratios," said Purdy. "The overcrowding and violence in our jails has led to a situation where a correctional officer may be killed, and that cannot happen."