SGEU looking for ‘optional accommodations’ for Saskatoon jail staff amid COVID outbreak

The Saskatoon Correctional Centre is dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak.

The facility is now up to 130 active cases between both offenders and staff. That’s according to Glenn Billingsley, the manager of labour relations for the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union.

The number of active cases sat at 107 for offenders, as of Sunday at 2 p.m. An additional 23 cases were among correctional officers.

Billingsley said the total could increase.

“We’re still waiting for some more (tests) … We have about 170 of the roughly 350 staff that have been tested. Most of those results have come in,” he told 650 CKOM on Monday morning.

“We have a high level of anxiety. We know that the inmates are experiencing high levels of anxiety as they’re mixed in units with positive tests and healthy inmates.”

Billingsley said optional accommodation is also being asked for by correctional officers.

“Because these correction workers are essential services that are mandated to report to the workplace and go into a very risky environment, we’re asking that instead of them returning home and infecting possibly their families (and) their loved ones … we’re asking the government to provide them optional accommodations between shifts,” he said.

“So far, the government is reviewing it. We’ve heard negative response so far to that request, but we’ll keep pursuing.”

Billingsley said all of the staff members have been mandated to wear masks since September. As for inmates, they were housed in isolation units upon intake for 14 days.

When they were cleared and tested negative, they were moved to their units.

Inmates received the “appropriate PPEs” within their units, Billingsley said.