00:06Alice brings prison guards on strike for 12 hours today, concerned over their enterprise
00:14bargaining agreement and saying the NT government is trying to remove the requirement to seek
00:19agreement from the union on staffing levels.
00:22Commissioner Matthew Varley made a last ditch attempt last night through the Fair Work Commission
00:26to stop the strike from going ahead today but it wasn't successful and these people are
00:30now on strike from 8am to 8pm tonight.
00:33This is not about money, this is safety, they've had enough and someone needs to do something
00:37about offices.
00:38Staff telling the ABC they're overworked and feel unsafe.
00:43Our current EA is about a lot of things, primarily it's about safety. We're really seeing a drastic
00:51shift in the conditions on the ground.
00:54Overcrowding also a major concern.
00:5717, 18 prisoners in a dorm set out for, you know, six prisoners to live in.
01:04Commissioner Varley says the strike has diverted staff from flood recovery, but not everyone
01:10convinced.
01:11It's actually really inappropriate for him to say that because he hasn't asked for any
01:16officer help in the top end at all.
01:18From the outside, hoping for changes on the inside.
01:24But, I'm not sure the strike was right.
01:24So you see a blue line.
