South Australian Corrective Services department under fire for ‘accomplishments’ whiteboard, leaving angry employees ‘betrayed and devalued’

Staff at a government department have expressed outrage after an achievement mentioned by bosses during a management course left them feeling ‘betrayed’.

Senior managers from South Australia’s Department for Correctional Services (DCS) recently attended a forum to discuss current issues and future opportunities.

The first activity at the forum was ‘Leading Your Team in 2024’, where senior managers wrote down ‘an achievement’, ‘a challenge’ and ‘a future opportunity’ on Post-it notes, which were then stuck to a whiteboard.

One of the ‘achievements’ mentioned was ‘keeping staff on a relatively low income in the face of inflation’ and ‘resilience’.

A Correctional Services worker struggling to make ends meet was shocked to hear of the DCS ‘achievement’.

“When I found out that DCS’s job was to keep wages low, I felt betrayed and devalued as an employee,” the unnamed employee told the Adelaide Advertiser.

“I am even more convinced that DCS does not have my best interests at heart.”

The employee has difficulty paying basic living expenses if he does not work overtime.

Senior managers at the Department for Correctional Services were asked to write ‘an achievement’ on post-it notes stuck to a white board. One of the ‘achievements’ sparked outrage

A Correctional Service worker said they were completely discouraged by the DCS’s ‘performance’ of stagnant wages

“If I worked 9 to 5, that would be impossible,” they said.

‘The disadvantage of all that overtime is that it puts a lot of strain on me physically.’

‘It’s like having two jobs’

The union boss said the incident highlighted the urgent need for a pay increase for DCS workers to bring them in line with the cost of living.

“The fact that DCS managers have apparently boasted that keeping incomes low is an achievement is deeply demeaning and insensitive,” Public Service Association general secretary Natasha Brown said.

Public Service Association general secretary Natasha Brown (pictured) said a new enterprise agreement was being negotiated, but called the government’s initially proposed increase ‘insulting and disgraceful’.

Ms Brown added that it is also symptomatic of the government’s approach, “which is to keep public sector wages suppressed”, she said.

“The disparity between public and private sector wages, and the fact that our hardworking public sector workers are struggling to pay their household bills, is completely unacceptable,” she said.

Ms Brown said a new enterprise agreement was being negotiated, but called the Government’s initially proposed increase ‘insulting and disgraceful’.

The increase was ‘up to’ three percent per year, with the first increase expected to occur in August 2025.

A spokesperson for the department said in a statement, “DCS appreciates the work and input of all its employees at its locations statewide.”

“For this reason, the forum was attended by both corporate and operational staff,” the spokesperson said.

“Staff salaries are determined by the SA Public Sector Enterprise Agreement and not by the department.”