Prison officers at jails and institutions in Shropshire and Mid Wales were working normally again today following a nationwide wildcat strike yesterday over their latest pay award.
The leader of the Prison Officers’ Association described yesterday’s walk-out as a “reluctant success” and insisted it had forced the Government to hold fresh talks.
Union leaders will meet Justice Secretary Jack Straw tomorrow in a bid to break the deadlocked row which was sparked by the Government’s controversial decision to pay a 2.5 per cent wage rise in two stages, reducing the value of the award to 1.9 per cent.
Brian Caton, general secretary, said today all the striking prison officers, including those at Shrewsbury’s Dana prison and Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution, near Market Drayton, returned to work last night after the executive called off the action.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice refused to comment on individual prisons, but said it was “business as usual” today.
“Everyone has gone back to work,” she said.
About 80 officers at Stoke Heath went on strike yesterday leaving the institution, which has about 600 inmates, staffed by just “half a dozen” officers.
The Ministry of Justice said fresh talks had already been agreed before the strike took place, but this was denied by Mr Caton.
He said two prison governors were attacked yesterday, which he regretted, but he added eight prison officers were being assaulted every day.
4 Comments
I hold no brief for the strikers - but does anyone else find it odd that the Government can find plenty of money from the public coffers for their own massive pay rises AND mink lined pensions schemes, but says the rest of us should be content with modest to no increases in pay - and ever more pathetic pensions?
Well done. Whilst I am normally against industrial action it is high time that someone stood up to these people in government and stopped the systematic rape of our public services. Perhaps we can see some sort of unified action amongst all of the services to get this government back to serving the public and not their own self interests. Sometimes you have to grab people by the short and curlies to get their attention.
Support the prison officers and stop this immoral government desecrating our public services to help pay the billions wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan
The brave men and women who work in these places should be paid ten times their weight in gold. Thank you for the hard, unknown work you do. Keep up the fight!