Prison union fights double bunking

The union representing prison guards heads to court today to fight plans to introduce "double-bunking" in four of the country's major prisons.

The Corrections Department plans to introduce double-bunking at Northland's Ngawha, Auckland Women's, Waikato's Spring Hill and Otago prisons from next year.

The Corrections Association will argue in the Employment Court in Wellington that such a move will further jeopardise the safety of prison officers.

Corrections Association president Bevan Hanlon said yesterday that double bunking was just another term for overcrowding and was in breach of the union's employment collective agreement.

He was "quietly confident" it would win the case. "We can't see how it can't turn out in our favour.

"If you go back to all of the opening media statements when they opened these four prisons ... they talk about how these are built to international best practice standards, how they've got a certain capacity level.

"What Corrections is now claiming is that's not quite right - they were always designed to be double-bunked. They just didn't tell anyone."

Staff safety was the union's primary concern, he said.

"We don't have batons, we don't have pepper spray and we don't have stab-proof vests, and although Corrections are looking at introducing these, they're only going to do it after you've been attacked," he said. "In practice it's weasel words."

Prison services assistant general manager Brendan Anstiss said last week that double-bunking "is the most cost-effective and efficient way to accommodate a rapidly rising prison population".

He said prisons were due to reach full capacity by next year, making double-bunking imperative.

- NZPA