Workers at Ashley are at breaking point again because of the government’s inability to provide a workforce that can operate the centre safely.

On Friday 21 October, HACSU members told managers the number of workers on site meant it was unsafe to proceed, even under modified restrictive practices. Young people were locked down before 3pm and modified checks on them were put in place.

We’re having ongoing meetings with DECYP to understand what is happening on a day-to-day basis. But our priority is safety.

We should not accept that being in a unit alone is safe. It is not. We should not accept that having less workers than required to provide an emergency response is safe. It is not. We should not accept that working 70+ hours a week is safe. It is not.

We need to enforce minimum staffing or modified operations – there is no in between.

The absolute minimum staffing for day and afternoon shift is 8 youth workers and an operations coordinator. On night shift, it’s 5 youth workers and an operations coordinator. Work is currently underway on an interim solution, which would see as many youth workers as possible on the ground when young people are up and out of their rooms, and leaner numbers for times when young people are in their rooms.

Whatever the case, as a worker you have every right to refuse unsafe work. No one can deny that to you.

If we stick together, we can make things safer until more workers are trained and deployed.

We’re trying to get answers about the lack of experienced youth workers and when we can expect an update about reform.

For further information, please contact HACSU on 1300 880 032 or assist@hacsu.org.au