Vilnius Prison Officials Stand Against Proposals to Shorten Shifts

The ministry wants higher quality

Deputy Justice Minister E. Jablonskas says he has heard complaints about fatigue while working for 24 hours straight from the officials themselves, when he began supervising the area of ​​the prison system.

“That 24 hour shift is really difficult if you want to do your job well, make no mistakes and achieve that result effectively.” 15 minutes he said.

According to E. Jablonskas, this is why, after evaluating the experience of other police institutions and institutions of the prison system, the Vilnius Correctional Institution was offered to carry out an experiment and temporarily shorten shifts to 12 hours.

The deputy minister emphasized that the experiment has not started yet, it was proposed to run only from October 1.

“Interviews were conducted, communications were made, and union representatives were operating in those institutions that directly confirmed to me that, yes, the quality would improve,” said E. Jablonskas.

However, according to him, this is not favorable for some officials: they have second jobs, other activities and occupations.

“We want quality, we want a healthy organization, so that people feel safe, that there are no mistakes and that fatigue does not respond to things like escaping from jail, because it is natural that a 24-hour person really loses vigilance and there are to recognize that it is detrimental to quality ”, explained the deputy minister.

The union sees no need for reform

In the opinion of Darius Čekavičius, president of the Vilnius Correctional Home Union, the claim that quality will improve by shortening shifts is “only languages”.

“You see, that quality of work is not so bad now, and the performance is really good. Two years ago, they brought us convicts who had a negative impact on all Lithuanian institutions, and we got together, we worked with them, those indicators don’t they are very bad in any way ”. 15 minutes he said.

A total of 149 officers were interviewed in Security Management Unit 1, of whom only five expressed their desire to work after 12 noon.

According to him, upon learning of the proposed reduction in shifts, the union requested consultations with the employer, since such a possibility is provided for in the Labor Code.

“We demand that consultations on the change of working hours be initiated and we receive the assurance that this experiment is currently stopped,” said D. Čekavičius.

He states that most officials agree with the current schedule and do not want changes, but agree that this is also the case for additional non-work related activities in the correctional home.

Most also have second jobs (having, of course, permission from the employer, according to the law), taking people and loans, having certain obligations, counting money and getting out of those second jobs now or changing the schedule is not the goal. in principle, ”he explained. union president.

More time would only be for commuting

D.Čekavičius says he is skeptical about the ministry’s statements that by shortening shifts, officials would have more time for themselves and their families.

“In our opinion, people will be able to spend more time commuting to work. There are many people working in the district, in smaller cities: Šalčininkai, Eišiškės, Švenčionys, Širvintos, people will need twice as much to drive and spend more time on the trip “, said.

The position of the people is clear to us and for now we will defend it

The union president also noted that the time spent on documentation would also increase as shift delivery procedures would be duplicated.

According to him, the changes are not endorsed by the absolute majority of correctional house officials; such a wish was not expressed by any of the approximately 75 respondents who work in the second department of security management.

“A total of 149 officers were interviewed in Security Management Unit 1, and only five of them expressed their desire to work after 12 hours,” he said.

D.Čekavičius assured that the conditions are created for those who want to work in shorter shifts and the officials of today’s shift work for eight hours each and the dynamic care specialists for 12 hours.

“The position of the people is clear to us and for now we will defend it,” said the union president.

E.Jablonskas: this is how all statutory organizations work

Deputy Justice Minister E. Jablonskas says he does not understand the concern about the change in the length of shifts.

According to him, this is how all statutory organizations work, so the Vilnius Correctional Center should not be exceptional either.

“I find it strange that unions don’t represent a healthy environment where there is a real focus on a safe environment, a high-quality environment, quality work hours and everything in between. Well, we have what we have, ”he said.

E.Jablonskas emphasized that during the experiment it was suggested to evaluate in which shifts it would be more comfortable to work: one day, one night and then two days off, or two days, two nights and then four days off.

“This place really left it to the discretion of the head of the institution to decide and negotiate with the community of officials how it would be more convenient for them, that is, in principle, we are here so that officials feel comfortable, safe, not tired. and make no mistakes.

In this situation, I really don’t understand the desire to work 24 hours. I understand that there are three days off, but there are also days off after working 12 hours, ”he said.

The deputy minister also said that he had criticized the figures given for the increase in the cost of travel to work, saying that they were “imposed only on the basis of the implications and without entering into the legal provisions.”

“In this case, really, the figure that is presented, I really would not believe it, I am a bit lacking in concrete figures based on facts and arguments,” said E. Jablonskas.

The experiment was suspended due to the migration crisis.

According to E. Jablonskas, at present the experiment “has not been canceled or started”, it was only stopped due to the crisis caused by the migrants from Belarus and the growing need for assistance to the services of the internal affairs system.

“The unions are being consulted so that if there were more volunteers to work and help the Ministry of the Interior to manage crises, in this case to contribute outside the service (…), then the Ministry of Justice would definitively suspend this experiment and I will not return to this day. “Said.”

According to him, officials with special knowledge and skills are currently needed to handle the migration crisis, so the ministry is withdrawing from the change in work organization for the time being.

“Really, the interests of the State are above all, and that is why we are suspending this experiment”, emphasized E. Jablonskas.

According to D.Čekavičius, there are currently a large number of prison officials assisting the services of the internal affairs system, and soon their number should increase even more.

“At the Vilnius Correctional Center, we have 106 volunteers who contribute to the work of the Public Security Service in Rūdninkai. I also had to contact the staff at the Alytus Correctional Center, who to my knowledge are still 40 people there who would also contribute and help voluntarily, ”he said.