Corrections Officers at 30 prisons and 100s of courts across NSW have walked off the job after a prisoner who seriously assaulted a corrections officer, leaving him with a broken eye socket, broken nose, and missing teeth was released on bail yesterday.

Prisoners have been locked down in their cells and trucks are bringing prisoners involved in court proceedings back to prisons after corrections officers across the state voted to walk out this morning.

The Officers will not return until 7:00am tomorrow.

The assault occurred a number of weeks ago at the John Morony Correctional Centre near Windsor.

Public Service Association General Secretary, Stewart Little, says his members are seething.

“Our members are livid, a corrections officer gets bashed and left with life changing injuries and the guy gets released back into the community without being charged? It’s outrageous,” said Mr Little.

“Every Corrections Officer in the state is forgoing a day’s pay today over this because the message they’re hearing is it’s OK for them to get bashed in their workplace.

“The jails are full of DV offenders due to the Minns Government’s crackdown, but it means serious assaults inside prisons are up by 30 per cent.

“These DV offenders come in off the street, they’re drug affected, they’re on remand, and they cause problems, Corrections Officers need to be backed up by the rest of the justice system and the government otherwise this strike will only be the beginning.”