The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls are sounding the alarm on a rapidly escalating human rights crisis inside South Australian prisons following the Public Service Association (PSA) strike action that began Monday morning.

As staff walked off the job, reports from inside the state’s prisons make clear that every aspect of imprisoned people’s lives has been shut down. People are being locked in their cells indefinitely. We are hearing that prisoners across multiple facilities have already begun hunger strikes in desperation.

Women and men inside are reporting:

• No mail being delivered
• No phone calls permitted, including to children, partners, Elders, lawyers
• Cancelled court appearances and no judicial movement – people on remand unable to apply for bail
• No hospital transfers or medical consultations
• People stuck for days in police watch-houses
• Cancelled family visits
• No transfers, no movement, no access to programs or supports
• People scheduled for release not being released

‘We hold grave concern for women currently held in solitary confinement, who will not be receiving their required case reviews. Many remain isolated, without the support of the other women who usually keep them safe and grounded,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

‘The impacts on children are profound. Parents cannot call home. Young people on remand are being denied basic contact with their families. Entire families are being punished for a workplace dispute they had no part in,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

‘A significant number of those currently locked down have not been convicted of any offence, they are legally innocent. Yet they are now being used as political pawns in the PSA’s wage campaign,’ said Debbie Kilroy. 

The PSA Is Leveraging Prisoners, and Christmas, in a Dangerous Wage Battle

‘It is unconscionable that the PSA is leveraging the lives of prisoners, and the emotional intensity of the Christmas period, to apply pressure in their wage negotiations,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘This is a dangerous escalation. The PSA knows that locking people down at this time of year inflicts extraordinary emotional harm: parents unable to speak to their children, families preparing for Christmas without any contact, people in crisis unable to access medical care,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘But this is not strategy, this is hostage-taking. This is collective punishment. And this is a reckless, dangerous game that puts prisoners’ lives at direct risk,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘Workers have every right to fight for increased wages. But no union has the right to gamble with the safety, wellbeing, and lives of thousands of human beings,’ said Tabitha Lean.

The Violence Is Structural, Not a Product of Low Wages

‘As a National Network we are clear:
Violence and harm in prisons do not occur because wages are low.
They occur because prisons are violent institutions, built on punishment, deprivation, and human suffering. No wage rise will change that,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘While the PSA claims violence is rising due to poor pay, the truth is that imprisoned people are the ones currently enduring the consequences of the strike: denied liberty, denied dignity, denied access to the most basic necessities of life,’ said Tabitha Lean.

We Demand Immediate Action

The National Network call for:

1. An immediate end to all lockdowns across SA prisons
2. The full restoration of prisoners’ human rights, including access to phones, visits, mail, courts, medical care, and movement
3. Immediate independent oversight, including the Ombudsman, Community Visitors Scheme, and human-rights organisations, to enter prisons and verify prisoner welfare
4. A commitment that no future industrial action will be carried out in a way that harms or endangers imprisoned people

‘South Australia cannot claim to uphold human rights while over 2000 people, many legally innocent, remain locked in cells without access to the outside world, denied medical care, and forced into hunger strikes to make their voices heard,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

‘Prisoners are not bargaining chips. They are not leverage for wage negotiations. They are human beings.
And their lives, their safety, and their dignity must never be collateral damage in a political dispute,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

 For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226