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Prison officers in England and Wales to take industrial action
Prison officers' strike unlawful, justice minister tells MPs
(about 2 hours later)
Prison officers are to take further industrial action in crisis-hit jails across England and Wales over pay, pensions and the government’s failure “to provide safe, decent and secure prisons”, the prison officers’ union has said.
The prison officers’ union is “set for unlawful strike action” in already volatile jails across England and Wales, the justice minister, Sam Gyimah, has told MPs.
The government has called the move unlawful and warned it would take legal action.
Prison chiefs are to undertake a review of their contingency plans on Tuesday after the Prison Officers Association confirmed it intends to begin an escalating programme of industrial action on Wednesday.
From Wednesday, members of the Prison Officers Association (POA) will withdraw from a range of voluntary duties, including assisting “Tornado” teams, which respond to outbreaks of disorder, and working as first aiders or hostage negotiators. The POA said its members would respond if lives were at risk.
Prison officers plan to withdraw from voluntary tasks including taking part in Tornado riot control teams, suicide and self-harm assessments, working as a first aider or hostage negotiator, mentoring, overtime and detached duties. The union said its members would respond if lives were at risk.
An overtime ban that could cause havoc in already short-staffed prisons will be phased in from April. In a briefing paper, the union said: “The POA condemns the systematic failure of the National Offender Management Service (Noms) to provide safe, decent and secure prisons, failures which have created a prison service in crisis.
The programme of industrial action follows the rejection by the POA membership of a new pay and conditions package that includes a phased withdrawal from overtime and additional duties from April leading to a ban from July.
The POA brought prisons to a halt across England and Wales in November when it held disruptive meetings outside jails over prison safety concerns. This was halted when the ministry of justice secured a high court injunction against the union. Industrial action by prison officers is illegal.
“The POA condemns the systematic failure of Noms [national offender management service] to provide safe, decent and secure prisons, failures which have created a prison service in crisis,” according to an internal union briefing paper sent to POA branches on Monday.
“More and more members are being assaulted every day, the increase in self-inflicted deaths and daily security breaches are unacceptable and as a result of staff shortfalls and budget cuts.”
“More and more members are being assaulted every day, the increase in self-inflicted deaths and daily security breaches are unacceptable and as a result of staff shortfalls and budget cuts.”
The Ministry of Justice said an offer had been accepted by union leaders in December but it had been rejected by members.
The POA circular said the list of voluntary tasks members would withdraw from on Wednesday was not exhaustive “but should be used to demonstrate to members that if they continue to volunteer for work that is not profiled and work for nothing Noms will continue to ignore the real issues of staff safety, pay and conditions”.
A spokesman said: “Industrial action by prison officers is unlawful. If the POA do not withdraw their bulletin, we will seek an injunction to prevent any such action occurring.
Gyimah told the Commons justice select committee on Tuesday that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had imposed additional annual allowances of £3,000-£5,000 for staff at 31 prisons facing particular staff recruitment and retention difficulties. Payments are also being made to a further 2,000 prison officers who undertake extra roles in Tornado riot teams, safety and mentoring roles.
“We made a good offer to the Prison Officers Association in December, which was endorsed by their leadership but rejected by the POA membership. We are working hard to retain the invaluable experience within our workforce and want to recognise the expertise and dedication of prison staff.
The union’s national chair, Mike Rolfe, and general secretary, Steve Gillan, have said the latest pay increase have not been welcomed by their members in the 31 prisons because they see it as divisive.
In November, the high court ordered up to 10,000 prison officers to end a 24-hour protest over rising violence in jails and return to work after legal action by the justice secretary, Liz Truss, reaffirming the legal ban on prison staff striking.
“This offer has also incensed members across the prison estate, who recognise that they will again not receive a fair cost of living pay rise as Noms through the pay review body concede to the government’s pay cap of 1%,” they said.
The latest action comes after a report by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons revealed that many prisoners were too scared to leave their cells for months for fear of violence at HMP Featherstone, near Wolverhampton.
A MoJ spokesman said a “good offer” had been made to the union in December that had been endorsed by its national executive but rejected in a ballot of the membership.
Inspectors found “self-isolating” prisoners locked up for almost 24 hours every day at the Category C training and resettlement prison, which holds about 650 men.
“We are working hard to retain the invaluable experience within our workforce and want to recognise the expertise and dedication of prison staff,” he said.
The chief inspector of prisons said there had been a “shocking worsening in standards” since the last inspection in 2013. “One of the symptoms of the lack of safety was the number of men who chose to self-isolate in an attempt to escape the violence,” Peter Clarke said.
A survey found nearly two in three (63%) prisoners said it was easy to get drugs, while levels of violence had increased including assaults on staff.
The prison’s segregation unit remained closed during the inspection in October and November last year after being seriously damaged by prisoners, while many cells were dirty, poorly ventilated and covered in graffiti.
Clarke said the decline at Featherstone was “clear evidence of poor industrial relations, staff shortages and some significant prisoner unrest”.
Last week, Truss announced thousands of prison staff would receive a pay rise in a drive to increase staffing levels and tackle the jail safety crisis. Frontline staff in London and the south-east will earn up to £5,000 more as part of the £12m package.
But the prison officers’ union said the system was in “meltdown” and likened the pay rise to “placing a plaster over a gaping wound”.
The POA said the wage increase had “incensed” its members, many of whom would not benefit.
This month Truss announced a blueprint for prison reform and the replacement of Noms. Measures include recruiting 2,500 frontline officers and instituting “no-fly zones” to stop drones dropping drugs and other contraband into prisons.
Prison violence in England and Wales has reached critical levels in recent months, with assaults on staff up by 43% in the year to June.
