50 signatures reached
To: Dale Webster
Give Shelley and Karen permanent cleaning roles – for everyone’s safety at TPS!
1. Immediately employ Shelley Swan and Karen Davies on a permanent basis.
2. Provide all cleaners with 2 weeks special leave should they or any persons they have been in contact with become infected with COVID-19.
3. Consult with cleaners on WHS and the PPE they require to stay safe
4. Immediate training on infection control
5. Professional development as afforded to their facility attendant colleagues in the Department of Education.
Why is this important?
The DOJ is putting the health and safety of COs and others in the prison at risk. Cleaning is at the front line of defense amid the Covid-19 crisis. But by keeping our prison cleaners contracted and casual, the Department is neglecting the management of this crucial job and putting lives at risk.
Right now, coronavirus is threatening the health and livelihood of people all over the world, and here in Tasmania we are fighting it daily. We know that if coronavirus gets hold in TPS that isolation is not an option. An outbreak in the prison complex will decimate inmates and Officers, and must be prevented at all costs!
TPS is trusting a mainland contract cleaning company to have the leadership and know-how to keep you safe! This company employs Shelley and Karen as Casuals. They have no isolation leave like you do ‒ they don’t even have any sick leave. They don’t have access to any of the systems and supports that you do, but they’re expected to keep RPC hygiene and disease free!
Shelley and Karen play a vital role in ensuring the prison facilities are sanitised and virus-free. They keep employees and inmates safe. Yet they’re not afforded the respect they deserve such as job security, sick leave and a fair wage. They’re not given appropriate PPE or training in infection control. This puts us all at risk!
Giving Shelley and Karen permanent roles can change this! There have been two vacant cleaning positions in the prison complex for over two years that the company has refused to fill. We need to tell TPS there has never been a more important time to employ cleaning staff and support them with the resources and training they need to keep us all safe.
We demand that the DOJ directly employ Shelley & Karen immediately, give them access to special COVID-19 leave, and train them in infection control.