Correctional officers in Delaware will be getting a raise and a pledge for safer working conditions.
The deal was struck by Governor John Carney and the union that represents correctional officers.
New hires will get $40-thousand dollars a year – a $5-thousand increase in the next budget year.
The Wilmington News Journal reports that will go up to $43-thousand the following year.
Carney said that the agreement is a major step toward dealing with the staffing concerns in the wake of the inmate uprising at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center that resulted in the death of Officer Steven Floyd.
The News Journal reports that the General Assembly does not have to approve the increase because it has been reached through collective bargaining.
The agreement comes at a time when state legislators are struggling to close a $350 million budget deficit.
