<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prison officers in NSW have walked off the job after an inmate who attacked four of their colleagues was given what the union has called a "slap on the wrist" as punishment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prison officers at Cessnock and Bathurst correctional centres have stopped work, with officers at all 36 of the state's other prisons expected to follow suit. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The walkout will leave the Local, District and Supreme courts all unable to function, the Public Service Association said.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-charged-after-allegedly-pointing-laser-at-police-plane-east-cannington-western-australia/d5162c60-8177-4a79-b3d5-2c00c3069724" target="_blank"><strong><span>Man charged after allegedly pointing laser at police plane</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cameron Welsh, 26, attacked four prison officers earlier this year at the Cessnock Correctional Centre, resulting in multiple facial injuries. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All four officers were hospitalised, and the union said two would never work again.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Welsh was later transferred to Goulburn's Supermax prison and isolated from other inmates. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/prison-officers-walk-off-job-after-inmate-sentenced-for-jail-attack/d29b4583-7a4c-48f2-b9dc-f03c9335a9b0" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was convicted yesterday of four counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and inflicting actual bodily harm. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was given a three-year community corrections order and did not have extra time added to his sentence by a magistrate, meaning he could be freed as soon as tomorrow.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The union said Welsh "has a history of violence" after being arrested in 2023 for bashing two men with a baseball bat in the Hunter. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/melbourne-cup-2025-weather-forecast-derby-day-flemington-track-conditions/a9f42f35-36b7-4620-97c2-bfbaef477f10" target="_blank"><strong><span>Cloudy conditions and possible showers forecast for Melbourne Cup 2025</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This tells the community it's okay to bash prison officers, that you won't be punished if you do, and you'll be able to return to the community," Public Service Association president Nicole Jess said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jess herself is a sworn prison officer. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In giving Mr Welsh a slap on the wrist, this magistrate has delivered a slap in the face to every prison officer in this state who keep our community safe from those who've forfeited their right to walk amongst us," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Prison officers are absolutely livid about this and expect immediate action from the Minns government."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said he was shocked at the magistrate's ruling.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"My phone has gone into meltdown, I've had prison officers ringing me all day, absolutely incandescent with rage at the signal this magistrate has sent to the community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The attorney-general better get himself out of whatever meeting or media opportunity or announcement he's currently engaged in and get this solved or else the state's prison system is going to go into meltdown."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The NSW opposition said the government had lost the trust of the prison workforce. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When the people who keep our prisons safe say they've lost faith in the government, it's a damning indictment on leadership," Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This strike is not about pay, it's about safety, respect, and a government that has stopped listening."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" 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