This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6968794.stm
The article has changed 24 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Court order against prison strike | Court order against prison strike |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Ministry of Justice has been granted a High Court injunction against a national strike by thousands of prison officers protesting over pay. | The Ministry of Justice has been granted a High Court injunction against a national strike by thousands of prison officers protesting over pay. |
| The surprise walkout, intended to be for at least 24 hours, by members of the Prison Officers' Association in England and Wales began at 0700 BST. | |
| The action came after it pulled out of a no-strike agreement with government. | The action came after it pulled out of a no-strike agreement with government. |
| Officers in Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, East Anglia and London are among those to have stopped working. | Officers in Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, East Anglia and London are among those to have stopped working. |
| Earlier this year the independent pay review body for prisons recommended to ministers salaries ranging from £12,000 for auxillary staff to almost £32,000 for principal officers. Most prison officers start on around £17,700. | Earlier this year the independent pay review body for prisons recommended to ministers salaries ranging from £12,000 for auxillary staff to almost £32,000 for principal officers. Most prison officers start on around £17,700. |
| The Prison Officers' Association (POA), which has 28,000 members, said up to 90% of those who had been due on duty had joined the strike. | |
| It was not immediately clear what the reaction of the POA would be to Mr Justice Ramsey's order. | |
| Union officials had warned the strike could continue indefinitely until the dispute was resolved. | |
| The judge said there was an "overwhelming case" that a legally binding agreement had been broken. | |
| Lawyers for the government told the High Court the strike had meant there was a backlog of 900 people waiting to be transferred to prisons. | |
| The hearing was also told a prisoner had been found dead in a cell. | |
| But the judge said it was too early to assess whether this was a consequence of the action. |