In June, members of your Component 1 Executive met with senior WCB officials advocating on how and what WorkSafeBC can do to reduce violence in all nine of BC's jails.

Representing the union was BCGEU Vice President & Chair of Component 1 Dean Purdy, Component 2nd Vice Chair Brian Campbell, component executive member Brandon Cox, and Staff Representative Mike Eso.

The issues raised at the meeting include:

• Current violence statistics
• Inmate-to-Officer ratios
• Change of inmate profile & demographics (gang affiliations)
• Accident and risk assessment recommendations inconsistencies
• ASP batons for all 1st responders
• Removal of microwaves from all jails
• Single staffed hospital shifts

Your component also provided the most recent violence statistics showing that inmate-on-officer assaults rose by 39% between 2014 and 2015 and inmate-on-inmate violence rose by 42% during that same period. Violence continues to rise, and yet Public Safety & Solicitor General Minister Mike Morris stood before the legislature in March and said that there are no real safety concerns in B.C. corrections

Your component has serious concerns regarding adherence to occupational health and safety regulations at our worksites. For example, at the WCB inspection of Surrey Pre-Trial Services Centre (SPSC), it was found that joint accident investigations required by law were not taking place after many assaults against correctional officers.

In order for WorkSafeBC to fulfull its duty to protect workers, a plan needs to be implemented to reduce the risk of violence to our correctional officers.

In late October of 2012, WorkSafeBC launched an initiative to inspect all nine adult custody correctional centres in the province. Called the Provincial Correctional Centre Initiative, its purpose is to assist parties in achieving regulatory compliance. The inspections focus on three key areas: workplace accountabilities & responsibilities (supervision), violence in the workplace, and blood and body fluid (infectious disease). This calls for inspections at a sample of the nine correctional centres in order to verify that key workplace violence procedures and controls have been operationalized and entrenched in the day-to-day operations.

As part of this program, WorkSafeBC conducted inspections at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre (KRCC), Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre (VIRCC), North Fraser Pre-Trial Centre (NFPC) and the Surrey Pre-Trial Services Centre (SPSC). These inspections resulted in 12 orders written against the corrections branch in addition to the 58 orders WorkSafeBC wrote in 2013, but it failed to address the real issue of staffing levels.

Referenced in the six written orders from SPSC is language on violent incidents that are very concerning to your Component 1 Executive and our members. WorkSafeBC states in the report:

This was of particular concern in the living units where the ratio of inmates to Living Unit Officer have become excessively high. The employer has several living units which are currently housing up to 60 inmates, and these are presently single-staffed, with limited support from Program/LUSO Officers. However, operational demands on the Program/LUSO Officers for other duties such as escorting the healthcare nurse on medication rounds, which is placing ever increasing demands on officer time, have reduced this support to the single Living Unit Officer. Living Unit staff believe that with these high inmate to staff ratios their ability to monitor inmate activities, and ensure their own safety in doing so, is greatly reduced.  

We have requested a follow up meeting with WorkSafeBC to discuss next steps and the results of the written orders.

We’re hopeful that through these meetings we will see improvements at our worksites, but how many assaults on correctional officers do we have to witness to see real and meaningful action by WCB on repeat violations to WCB regulations?

It’s time for Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberal government to amend legislation in order to give WorkSafeBC inspection officers the ability to write orders and mandate staffing levels at worksites like our correctional centres. Currently, the legislation does not adequately protect workers in safety sensitive worksites where the risk of violence to workers cannot be reduced.

If you haven’t already, please sign your component’s petition and join our campaign to reduce prison violence: www.prisonsafetynow.ca

In solidarity

Dean Purdy, Component Chair

Brian Campbell, Component 1 2^nd Vice Chair

Brandon Cox, Component 1 Recording Secretary

Mike Eso, BCGEU Staff Representative

Brandon Thistle, BCGEU Staff Rep, Occupational Health & Safety