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.

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. 

The walkout will leave the Local, District and Supreme courts all unable to function, the Public Service Association said.

Prison officers in NSW have walked off the job. (AAP)

Cameron Welsh, 26, attacked four prison officers earlier this year at the Cessnock Correctional Centre, resulting in multiple facial injuries.

All four officers were hospitalised, and the union said two would never work again.

Welsh was later transferred to Goulburn’s Supermax prison and isolated from other inmates. 

He was convicted yesterday of four counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and inflicting actual bodily harm.

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.

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. 

“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.

Jess herself is a sworn prison officer. 

“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.

“Prison officers are absolutely livid about this and expect immediate action from the Minns government.”

Public Service Association general secretary Stewart Little said he was shocked at the magistrate’s ruling.

“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.

“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.”

The NSW opposition said the government had lost the trust of the prison workforce.

“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.

“This strike is not about pay, it’s about safety, respect, and a government that has stopped listening.”