The Public Service Association is urging the NSW Parliament to pass new mandatory blood testing legislation, because the laws would relieve frontline workers of anxiety and discourage the weaponisation of blood in corrections facilities.
The PSA has long argued that those who attack prison officers and juvenile justice officers – and cause them anxiety about blood-borne disease – must be subject to mandatory blood testing.
PSA General Secretary Stewart Little said seeing legislation pass the state lower house was encouraging, but the Upper House needed to act with urgency because officers needed the mandatory testing enshrined in law sooner rather than later.
“The Public Service Association supports the legislation in its current form and we want to see these mandatory tests become law as soon as possible,” Mr Little said.
“Our union has been lobbying for these laws for years, because attacks of this nature cause massive distress and inconvenience to our members.
“Under current laws, certain inmates know they can cause officers real anxiety and difficulty by attacking them in filthy and disgusting ways.
“Recently, for example, one juvenile offender forced no fewer than 15 officers onto workers compensation over the space of months by chewing the inside of his cheek and spitting blood in their faces.
“These cases force officers to wait three months to be given the medical all clear, which has a deeply harmful psychological impact.
“These new mandatory blood testing requirements mean that officers can get some peace of mind relatively quickly, by confirming that their attacker does not carry blood borne diseases.
“Anyone who wants to commit a filthy, cowardly act and spit in the face of an officer deserves to have the full weight of the law thrown at them and that should include a mandatory blood testing.
“We applaud the moves by Corrections Minister Anthony Roberts MP in supporting corrective officers and youth justice officers with this common sense reform.”
