CPSU/CSA COMMENT ON WORKER INJURY AT BANKSIA HILL DETENTION CENTRE
Tuesday 28 February 2023
The Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association is aware of the incident at Banksia Hill Detention Centre last night that caused injuries to four staff, with at least one person who was horrifically injured and remains in hospital for emergency treatment.
Union officials are working with CPSU/CSA Delegates, the Department of Justice and Banksia Hill management to ascertain the events of yesterday that led to the serious breach of staff safety and the extent of injuries to staff.
Comments attributable to CPSU/CSA Branch Secretary, Rikki Hendon:
“The union wishes a quick and smooth recovery to the officer who was seriously injured last night and continues to receive emergency treatment. Our thoughts are with him and his family, and his colleagues left to cope with the aftermath of this traumatic incident.
“This was unnecessary and avoidable. No one should have to fear for their health and safety when they’re at work. Everyone should go to work and return home safe to their families.
“Ensuring the health and safety of our members at Banksia Hill is our priority. Enquiries and discussions continue with parties at Banksia Hill to establish the details of last night’s incident.
“The Government and Department have clearly and absolutely failed to ensure the safety of staff at Banksia Hill yet again. We have engaged with successive Governments and the Department for over a decade now on issues of safety for staff and young people. We are frustrated that we continue to have a failure to commit to safety, even despite the alarmingly high rates of assault at Banksia Hill, what will it take to commit to safety?
“We will continue engaging in dialogue with the Government, but this failure, after a decade of failures, should now be the final straw. The Government must urgently and decisively act to ensure a youth justice system in Western Australia that embeds the safety of staff and young people into its culture.”
ENDS
- Rikki Hendon will be holding a press conference at 3:30pm at Level 1 of the CSA Centre, 445 Hay Street, Perth WA, 6000.
- The CPSU/CSA covers 44,000 general public sector workers including child protection officers, youth custodial officers, and park rangers.
