PENETANGUISHENE, ONTARIO–(EMWNews – July 24, 2008) – The President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union is calling on Corrections Minister Rick Bartolucci to investigate practices at the Central North Correctional Centre that appear to be still rooted in how the facility was run while privatized.

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says that problems at the facility need to be addressed immediately, especially where safety is impacted, regardless of the cost to do so.

For some time, the superjail has been plagued by chronic computer problems, mostly affecting the door locking mechanisms at the jail. Despite numerous jail lockdowns and attempted fixes, staff still do not trust the system 100 per cent.

Compounding security problems, the jail is still running with less than half the unclassified staff as similar facilities, causing daily staffing problems. And a balky “swipe card” system that clocks staff in and out for shifts (the only one of its type in the province) docks pay from staff despite the fact they have been relieved of duty.

“It appears many of the problems stem from the old private jail attitude of putting profits first,” Thomas said. “When the jail came back into the public system, many of the private jail managers were kept on. That’s fine, as long as someone reminds them that in publicly-run corrections, staff safety and security comes first. That’s why the private company was given the boot.”

Dan Sidsworth, Chair of OPSEU’s Corrections Division, says staff are fed up and are ready to publicly demonstrate to get action.

“We have tried everything to resolve the problems at CNCC, but no one seems to be listening,” Sidsworth said. “The Ministry of Labour has shown that they will not enforce their powers to ensure the health and safety of the people who work at CNCC. Maybe the government needs to be reminded publicly that this is now a public facility.”