Prison Entry Searching
We are now nearing the end of the series of meetings in respect of the above draft policy and it is clear that there are many issues of contention to be discussed and resolved. Issues of concern for our members include, but are not limited to:

• Inconsistency of application due to the variation in site design and structure.
• Lack of dignity and privacy e.g. male officers searching female officers’ bags/personal items.
• Personal medication and the right to privacy.
• Rub down searches – do the potential positives (if any) outweigh the negatives, which are numerous.
• PCPs (formerly known as VCPs) – Lack of consistency and questionable validity.
• Definition of “reasonable cause”.
• Process in the event of reasonable cause (who should be involved and under what circumstances.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but should give you some food for thought. I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of membership feedback in respect of this issue! Remember, CANZ will be documenting the concerns to be discussed with PPS on the basis of this feedback.

A comprehensive document will be circulated for your consideration and feedback before the end of the week, but please keep submitting your personal concerns in “email” format via your workplace delegates and National Executive members. Consultation dates have been provisionally identified for next week, so a prompt response to CANZ’s full update is essential.

The Bargaining Round
As you are already aware, our preparation for the forthcoming negotiations is well underway. CANZ/PPS working parties are well-established and making significant progress regarding the review of job descriptions. As reported in an earlier update, this work is being carried out as a result of the significant increase in workloads of COs, SCOs and PCOs and a corresponding membership desire for recognition of that fact. We also have to have regard for the newly created positions within the Corrections Officer Career Structure, such as Sentence Planners and SMEs.

As identified during the recent round of “prison entry searching” meetings, we are in the process of applying to your employer for a round of stop-work meetings for the purpose of progressing both of these issues. Accordingly, it is time for all sub-groups to put their minds to the perennial issue of bargaining claims. I fully acknowledge that we are discussing your terms and conditions of employment, but I would, however, respectfully suggest that you keep it simple! After all, the less complicated the process, the more likely we are to achieve speedy and successful resolution. Let’s hope that PPS adopts the same approach.

Your National Executive members will discuss your submissions for the bargaining round during next month’s meeting and a final proposal will be documented for your endorsement. Watch this space for further frequent “Bargaining News” updates.

LIEU Days
Rumour has it that PPS is going to make a concerted effort to attack your rights in respect of the accumulation of lieu days and it is further rumoured that this attack will be launched in the Canterbury Region (what a surprise!). As usual, CANZ is ready for such an eventuality and, as usual, we (and probably we alone) are prepared to defend your terms and conditions of employment.

Accordingly, if you are the lucky punter who is approached with an instruction that goes something like:
“ I hereby formally instruct you to take the lieu days that you have currently accumulated on the following dates…”, you must contact your CANZ delegate immediately. I can assure you that we will take up the cudgels on your behalf.

Regards,
Brian Davies
National Organiser
(On behalf of the National Officers)