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| Prison officers call off strike | |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| An all-out strike in UK jails has been called off following talks between the Prison Officers' Association (POA) and prisons minister Gerry Sutcliffe. | |
| The strike - over overtime payments - had been due to take place on Friday. | |
| The announcement came as POA leaders were due in court for disregarding a High Court injunction intended to stop officers refusing to work extra hours. | |
| Earlier, the union said the injunction would have to be set aside if the action was to be called off. | |
| Last week, as many as 20 officers at Birmingham's Winson Green jail refused to work additional hours. | Last week, as many as 20 officers at Birmingham's Winson Green jail refused to work additional hours. |
| In response, the Prison Service obtained an injunction ordering unions to remove a circular which advised members not to work outside their shifts. | In response, the Prison Service obtained an injunction ordering unions to remove a circular which advised members not to work outside their shifts. |
| If someone finishes a day at work then they have a human right to come home Colin Moses, POA | If someone finishes a day at work then they have a human right to come home Colin Moses, POA |
| Prison officers in England and Wales voted in favour of action last month, prompting the POA's national executive committee to vote for strike action across the whole of the UK. | Prison officers in England and Wales voted in favour of action last month, prompting the POA's national executive committee to vote for strike action across the whole of the UK. |
| Earlier on Tuesday, Colin Moses, national chairman of the POA, said the union would argue in court that forcing prison officers to work overtime was a breach of their human rights. | |
| "We are saying that we are doing nothing wrong," he said. | "We are saying that we are doing nothing wrong," he said. |
| "If someone finishes a day at work then they have a human right to come home. | "If someone finishes a day at work then they have a human right to come home. |
| "The Prison Service is in crisis and my members are fed up to the back teeth of being treated like second-class citizens because of the failings of inept managers, the drive of the Prisons Board to achieve paper targets and efficiencies set by government which will only lead to wholesale problems within the Criminal Justice System." | "The Prison Service is in crisis and my members are fed up to the back teeth of being treated like second-class citizens because of the failings of inept managers, the drive of the Prisons Board to achieve paper targets and efficiencies set by government which will only lead to wholesale problems within the Criminal Justice System." |