Although the Industrial Relations Commission has ordered them back to work on Saturday, the Prison Officers Vocational Branch hasn't promised anything.

POVB industrial officer Dave McCauley, said ongoing issues at the jail, including safety and recent incidents, had sparked the strike.

"We've had several reforms over the last couple of years which have deleted ranks and reduced numbers of correctional officers on the ground," he said.

"The staff feel that these restructures have put them in a less safe working environment than they would have had before these (changes) from corrective services.

"There's a build up of issues at that location going back to the last strike.

"Inmate Bassam Hamzy had his sentence quashed for assaulting a correctional officer that was subsequently appealed against by the Department of Public Prosecutions.

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"Not long ago, three correctional officers were assaulted by an inmate on separate occasions.

"That inmate was charged with assault but when he went to local court, charges were dismissed even though the court agreed the officers actually suffered actual bodily harm.

"They attributed that to Corrective Services' departmental policies and procedures. Staff were obviously very upset with the result.

"A couple of days ago, staff felt their governor treated them with disrespect for simply doing their job."

With complications threatening to cause a boil over back in February, it finally did this time.

"It's just a culmination of a lot of issues that eventually led to the strike and the staff felt they had no other option than to withdraw their labour to highlight their concerns to Corrective Services and the government," Mr McCauley said.

The matter was referred to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

"Orders have been issued by the IRC for them to cease their industrial action and return to work," he said.

"If the orders are obeyed, then the staff will be back on the weekend. If not, they will be back on Monday.

"Currently, the Association's in the process of trying to disseminate the information from the IRC to its members."

The union says it won't be happy until multiple issues are addressed.

"They want to have their stance on all of the issues that are affecting the staff at the location to be heard," Mr McCauley said.

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"There are staff deficiencies.

"They need to convert casuals to full time positions and address policies and procedures to further protect correctional officers in the event of inmates assaulting them."

In the meantime, the Goulburn Correctional Centre has gone into lockdown due lack of staff.

Inmates would be locked in their cells, provided with their medical requirements and be fed through their cell doors.

Several jails across the state also withdrew their labour to support Goulburn, including the South Coast Correctional Centre and the Cooma Correctional Centre.

Corrective Services has been contacted for comment.

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