By Vicki Gilhula
Correctional workers at Sudbury Jail havenÂ?t reported to work since last week.
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Local 617 president Marnee Campbell said the workers are refusing to work because of health and safety issues.
The striking OPSEU members, mandated by law as essential services, have been on a work refusal since April 10.
Conditions Â?are not safe because of the way management is running the building,Â? she said.
When asked specifically what the problem is, Campbell said there is concern the jail and inmates are not being searched properly for manufactured weapons.
As of Northern Life press time Tuesday afternoon local managers had not reached a settlement with Local 617 representatives.
In the meantime, the jail is using replacement workers.
Ministry spokesperson Julia Noonan described them as Â?deployable managersÂ? from various provincial offices.
Some of those deployable managers work in corrections while others have corrections experience, she said.
Â?We have no idea what training these people have,Â? said Campbell.
Â?Trained correctional officers wonÂ?t go in (to the jail) because it isnÂ?t safe, but replacement workers will...itÂ?s not safe for replacement workers either.Â?
Although she is not aware of any problems inside the jail concerning inmates, she is concerned about the situation. In additional to correctional officers, Local 617 represents cooks, maintenance workers, social services workers, office staff and nurses.
The localÂ?s 120 members take shifts picketing around the clock outside the front of the jail on Elm Street and behind the jail on Applegrove Street.
At times, strikers have been playing road hockey, and more recently throwing a softball to pass the time.
There have been no complaints from residents in the area, said Campbell.
Many have dropped by to chat with the strikers. There have also been donations of food and wood from individuals, companies and other unions.
For local 617, as other OPSEU workers, the strike is not about money.
Campbell said the issues for jail employees are job security, and health and safety.
One of the issues is unclassified workers. Ministry of Correctional Services has been using Â?freelanceÂ? or unclassified correctional service workers rather than hiring full-time staff, said Campbell.
The unclassified workers, who pay union dues, have no benefits and are Â?on call.Â?
Â?They have no life,Â? said Campbell, who was an unclassified worker for more than eight years before being hired full time.
The union wants the province to fill Â?freelanceÂ? positions with full-time ones.
This is the second time Campbell, who has been a corrections officer for 11 years, has been on strike. She was out for five weeks in 1996. Sitting in a cold trailer last Sunday morning, she could only shrug her shoulders when asked for a prediction on when the strike will end.
At press time, a news blackout on negotiations between OPSEU workers and the province was in effect.
