Union says nine out of 10 prison officers want out

Nine out of 10 prison staff want to quit and a third are actively looking for other jobs, a survey reveals.

Their reasons include workplace stress, hours that are not family friendly and the availability of better-paid alternatives.

The nationwide survey published by the Public Service Association showed that 31 per cent of prison staff were actively seeking other employment and 91 per cent wanted to leave the Corrections Department.

PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff said the findings supported the union's efforts to improve quality and pay for prison jobs.

"The Department of Corrections is facing a very large recruitment challenge," he said. "It needs to recruit 1800 new staff in the next three years to cover for attrition and to staff new prisons as they are commissioned and additional beds within existing prisons.

"The survey of prison staff , Life on the Inside, reveals PSA members are demoralised and feel undervalued and unsafe with most looking for alternative employment.

"A third of those surveyed are applying for other jobs or talking with recruitment consultants about other work."

The PSA was committed to working with the department to resolve the problems identified in the survey, Mr Wagstaff said.

"We will be using the survey in a joint working partybeing established to reviewrecruitment and retention inthe prison service."

- NZPA