Members of the Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec Region (PSAC-Quebec) are deeply concerned about the latest incident at the Donnacona Institution this week, where union members were required to clean the scene where an inmate was found brutally murdered. This is the fourth such occurrence in a matter of months, and it’s the last straw.
USJE and PSAC-Quebec are calling for swift, tangible action to immediately guarantee members’ health and safety at work.
Here is what Sébastien Paquette, Executive Vice-President for PSAC-Quebec, had to say about this troubling string of events:
- The situation is dire. The employer seems to have lost its handle on the institution, as shown by the slew of violent altercations between inmates in recent months.
- Our members are growing increasingly worried. In their efforts to support rehabilitation, they interact closely with inmates every day—without any protection.
- They face real physical and psychological risks that are sure to jeopardize their work unless the employer does more to safeguard their health and safety.
- We’re also concerned that the members assigned to clean the scene of the latest crime aren’t receiving proper support from employee assistance services, which lack a protocol for addressing this type of trauma.
About USJE and PSAC-Quebec
USJE represents 2,000 members in Quebec, including 104 employees working at Donnacona Institution as correctional service officers, food service officers, correctional program officers, social program officers and parole officers.
PSAC-Quebec represents about 40,000 Quebec members working in the federal public service, universities and other sectors.