Sheriff Greg Petrie, Sheriff Glenn Elliot-Rudder, and Sheriff Brendon Wardle walk out of Wagga Wagga Local Court demanding a pay raise. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Sheriffs around the region have walked off the job over staffing and poor pay.
The court officers stopped work for two hours on Wednesday (17 July) and protested outside courthouses in Wagga Wagga, Temora, Junee, Young, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Tumut and Narrandera.
According to union spokespeople, the Sheriff’s Office faces a staffing crisis due to poor pay, high attrition rates, and an inability to recruit and retain officers.
Wagga Courthouse Sheriff Officer Glenn Elliot-Rudder said staffing shortages have resulted in overworked and underpaid officers.
“We are frontline public sector workers,” Sheriff Elliot-Rudder said.
“It’s time for the government to put its money where its mouth is and come to the table … see the PSA [Public Service Association] and put a pay offer for Sheriff’s Officers.”
Sheriffs’ duties include maintaining the security of court complexes, many of which have airport-style perimeter security and scanning to ensure the safety of judges, magistrates, lawyers and the public.
They also enforce orders issued by NSW Local, District and Supreme Courts, the High Court, the Federal Court and the Family Court, including writs, serve warrants and Property Seizure Orders.
“It is important work. This year marks the 200 years of the Sheriff’s Office, but it feels like we haven’t had a pay rise for 200 years,” Sheriff Elliot-Rudder said.
“As part of the 200th anniversary, every Sheriff’s Officer in New South Wales was given a medal, but this medal is much diminished when you’re undervalued, underappreciated, disrespected, underpaid and understaffed.”
In 2023, the government received a review report on the Sheriffs’ pay, but the union says this was never released.
“The DCJ [Department of Communities and Justice] budget was $24 billion this year, but not one cent was given to the pay rise for the Sheriffs,” Sheriff Elliot-Rudder said.
“Today, we’re taking industrial action … and send a clear message to the Premier and the Attorney-General that sheriffs deserve to be respected, deserve a pay rise, and we’re not going to wait any longer. ”
Wagga Courthouse Sheriff Officer Glenn Elliot-Rudder with the medal officers received to mark 200 years of the Sheriffs. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Sheriff Elliot-Rudder said the Premier and the Treasurer have strongly supported public sector workers and called on the government to follow through.
“We are paid on the lowest clerical scale in the public sector, yet we are close to police officers in the duties we do,” he said.
“The highest pay rate for a Sheriff’s Officer is $77,000; if I worked for Corrections, I’d be on $85,000, and if I were a NSW Police Officer, I would be on $111,000. ”
Sheriff Greg Petrie, Sheriff Brendon Wardle, Sheriff Glenn Elliot-Rudder and Public Service Association industrial officer Ben James, Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
With only 400 officers in the state, the Sheriff’s Office has to run three yearly recruitment classes of up to 90 officers to replace those who leave.
Sheriff Elliot-Rudder said that with the 20 to 25 per cent attrition rate, fewer experienced officers are out in the field doing the work, which can heighten the safety risk of officers.
General secretary of the Public Service Association, Stewart Little, said Sheriffs are highly trained in what is risky and stressful work.
“Sheriffs need a solid pay bump to reflect the dangerous work they do. When enforcing court orders, they’ll be entering people’s properties wearing stabproof vests, carrying capsicum spray, batons and handcuffs. It’s difficult work.
“Sheriffs put their lives on the line in courthouses to ensure judges, lawyers, and members of the public are safe from crooks and criminals, yet they are paid the same as people with desk jobs and administration roles at the courthouse. It’s just not on,” said Mr Little.
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