This article ran today in the Globe and Mail newspaper. I have copied the first part of the article that speaks about the high level of sick time in Ontario Jails.
Prisons under stress from sick leave abuse
KAREN HOWLETT
Globe and Mail Update
December 8, 2008 at 1:21 PM EST
Correctional officers in Ontario prisons took an average of 32 sick days last year and some more than doubled their annual salary by working overtime, the province's Auditor-General says in his annual report tabled on Monday.
The 498-page report covers a range of topics, including a backlog of cases in provincial courts, the loss of an estimated $500-million in tax revenues through the sale of contraband cigarettes and the construction of a hospital under a public-private partnership that cost much more than if the province had done it on its own. In all, provincial auditor Jim McCarter conducted 14 so-called, value-for-money audits in his sixth annual report.
This was not the first time Mr. McCarter examined what he described as “serious problems” with the absenteeism of correctional officers, including those who abuse sick leave and overtime provisions, in the province's 31 prisons. Some of the absenteeism was suspicious, including those who called in sick on the weekend preceding Thanksgiving, only to turn up for work on the Monday, when they earned twice the hourly rate for working a holiday.
The government has been ineffective in dealing with this problem, the report says, which has resulted in the province spending an extra $9-million last year for replacement staff and $11-million in overtime costs for correctional staff.
Substitute officers are paid overtime at 1.5 times the hourly rate. Some have been able to more than double their annual salary to $140,000 by working overtime, the report says.
The auditor blames low morale among officers for the problem, which has only gotten worse. Absenteeism has soared from just 12 days in 1995 to 32 last year and varies widely among institutions. In one, 82 per cent of workers missed an average of 11.5 days.
No one ever gets fired for poor attendance. When excessive absenteeism occurs at a prison, it often has no choice but to impose lockdowns, the report says. In 2007, there were 235 lockdowns because of staff shortages.
The prisons are overcrowded, with some operating at more than 100 per cent capacity, largely because of a backlog of cases awaiting trial in the province's courts. Nearly 70 per cent of inmates are in custody awaiting court appearances simply because it takes the courts longer to dispose of criminal cases, the report says. Over the past decade, the time taken to dispose of cases has climbed 11 per cent to an average of 205 days.
For the complete article go to: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081208.wont_auditorreport1208/BNStory/National/home
This is an audit by the provinces Auditor-General. We just happen to be in bargaining, but I’m sure there is no connection. That said all an auditor would care about is how much it costs as apposed to what is the cause.
Factors such as Higher work loads and no increase in staffing levels in more than twenty years; higher levels of violence; aging infrastructure (some jails predate confederation); over crowding; (placing three inmates into cell originally built for one); no joint employee return to work program; no peer assistance program; no post tramatic stress assistance. These are all factors which other jurisdictions have or are currently discussing with their bargaining agents.
For the record sick time in Ontario Jails is not significantly higher then in other provinces in Canada. The question that everyone should be asking is why is it so high and what has the industry done to cope with the causes.
We need to take ownership of the issue. What have we done to help ourselves? The MERC has advocated for positive changes that would have positive impact on sick time. Things like a joint employee / employer accommodation committee; a joint post tramatic stress disorder study; peer counselling; more lateral movement for members in the bargaining unit;
All the employer has come back with is delays in any meaningful discussions, and bargaining for the removal of sick time and limiting compensation for working overtime. With the politicians declaring a hiring freeze in the OPS, things are only going to get worse. Everyone better plan on more lock downs for a long time.
In Solidarity,
Dan Sidsworth
