JAMESTOWN (AP) - Twenty-five women inmates at the James River Correctional Center here still are awaiting transfer to southwestern North Dakota, the warden says.

Warden Don Redmann said that whether the number of women is 25 or 100, they must be provided the same services and opportunities as are the 325 male inmates in Jamestown.

"Numbers can't be an issue, but it's been more difficult for us," Redmann said. "I want the women to leave. It will make our job a lot easier."

The women inmates are housed on the sixth floor of the Jamestown prison, and are not allowed contact with the male inmates. They cannot be moved to the new women's prison in New England until its security area is ready for them.

"The women are tying up an entire floor that's needed for men," Redmann said. "We need that bed space."

Earlier this week, New England prison administrator Norbert Sickler agreed to retire early, after criticism over delays in getting the prison ready. A new administrator could be named by next month.

Redmann said correctional officers in Jamestown discovered that the staff they were training for jobs at the New England prison were being paid several hundred dollars more a month, and it hurt morale in Jamestown.

He said the starting salary throughout the state's prison system is $1,750 a month, and New England staff members started at $2,156 a month.

"And as we increase inmates, we also increase the workload with no raise to go with it," Redmann said. "So our turnover is high. One of my officers took a job driving a bread delivery truck because he could make more money."

Laundry and food service operations, originally part of the State Hospital, were taken over by the prison, to serve both agencies and provide work for inmates. Redmann said both programs are doing well.

"We're exploring a program that would offer certification for commercial laundry work," he said.

In the kitchen, about 50 inmates go through health screening before they start work and wear protective gear while on the job, he said. Inmates earn an average of $1.75 a day for their work and are supervised by 14 state-employed food service personnel.