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Prison bosses face a fresh challenge to maintain smooth operations as more than half their unit managers are set to take industrial action over pay.
Seventy-three of the Corrections Department's 131 unit managers have served notice of industrial action from June 7 in an effort to regain pay they lost last year.
The managers - all members of the Public Service Association - will still work regular 8am-5pm shifts to ensure the safety of staff and prisoners is not compromised.
They will refuse to do overtime or oncall duties, such as working 10 hours every weekend to check on segregated inmates.
PSA spokesman Alan Ware said the union had been trying since December to reverse a $4500 pay cut for the managers, which resulted from Corrections' axing its muster allowance.
"To add insult to injury, the department has increased the pay of the prison officers who are supervised by unit managers by up to $7000 a year," Mr Ware said.
He said the action could continue indefinitely, and the union had not ruled out more drastic action. "We won't be sitting back if nothing happens for a month. The situation will be reviewed constantly."
Corrections' acting assistant general manager, Brendan Anstiss, said the department was disappointed with the decision, but the door to negotiation was still wide open, with mediation scheduled for next week.
"The department remains committed to bargaining with the PSA in good faith. Unit managers have their remuneration reviewed annually, along with all other Corrections staff.
"The proposed industrial action will have little impact on prison operations."
But Peter Martin, a unit manager at Auckland Central Remand Prison, hoped the action would be more disruptive.
"The action will certainly have an effect. Those of us paid 8am to 5pm do considerably more hours than that, and the things we do outside those hours will have to be done by someone else.
"We want to be rewarded properly for what we do."
Work to rule
* 73 of the Corrections Department's 131 unit managers have served notice of industrial action from June 7 in an effort to regain pay they lost last year.
* However, they will work regular 8am-5pm shifts to ensure the safety of staff and prisoners is not compromised.
* They will refuse to do overtime or oncall duties, such as working 10 hours every weekend to check on segregated inmates.
