Iqaluit (Apr 03/06) - Pituillie Qulitalik moved to Iqaluit three years ago to work at the Baffin Correctional Centre (BCC), but working conditions have him contemplating a return to Iglulik.

New shift times, intimidation by prisoners and housing costs, as well as wanting to spend more time with his family have all played a role in Qulitalik's decision to look for work in his home community.

Hours for prison employees changed to eight-hour shifts from 12-hour shifts on April 1. Before the change came into place, Qulitalik could work four days in a row, and have four days to spend with his family.

"Four days with the family is good, and I was well-rested after four days," said Qulitalik.

Qulitalik knew being a prison guard would not be easy, but he thinks it is harder to be an Inuit man working at a jail that primarily houses Inuit prisoners.

"As an Inuit employee, it is very intimidating to work at the BCC," he said.

"This intimidation comes from the inmate population who view the Inuit staff as traitors and continually try and make Inuit staff break rules by intimidating them and threatening to take action against Inuit families in the community if their demands are not met."

It is his family he is thinking of when he turns down these requests for special treatment from the inmates. He wants to keep his job.

"It is scary sometimes, but I try to avoid those things. I tell them ‘Sorry but I have a job to do,'" said Qulitalik.

With an increase in housing costs for government employees, his mind is very close to being made up.

"The housing stuff is going, too, and they are taking away our subsidy. I'll go in debt if I stay at BCC. I can live on $210 a month in Iglulik," said Qulitalik.

The change in hours will lead to higher costs getting to and from work, as well as more money for babysitting, said Qulitalik.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they are just trying to accommodate the most people.

"Since April 2003, we have tried the 12 hour shifts. Some of that didn't yield the results we had hoped for. It (the eight hour shifts) gives us more flexibility in the schedule," said Markus Weber, the deputy minister for justice.

Rather than four days on and four off, the new schedule has guards working seven days straight with four off, followed by seven and three.

"We think that it is important that the staff be attentive to the inmate's behaviour. That's much more possible when you have (shorter shifts). There's no question it is a high stress situation," said Weber.

The issue of shifts was brought up in the legislative assembly last month.

"We are having a very difficult time recruiting more Inuit to work in that facility, and one of the reasons we were given is that the shift hours were not very conductive to Inuit with families here in Iqaluit," said Premier and Justice Minister Paul Okalik.

When asked if his department had consulted with the guards on the changes, Okalik had a blunt response.

"Our government is not run by the employees quite frankly. So we make decisions we feel are in the best interests of our overall territory," said Okalik.