The Courts say that Prison Officers can't strike:
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.
Officers outside prisons have indicated that they would continue striking until Thursday morning despite the order. (BBC)
As much as a sympathise with the prison officers, when you do a job like that then you can't really go on strike. It just really isn't right for them to do so. I appreciate the problems they are suffering, but as an essential part of the modern justice system, they can't just go on strike like that.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.
Officers outside prisons have indicated that they would continue striking until Thursday morning despite the order. (BBC)
Certainly the manner in which it has been done has been most disruptive, and potentially dangerous, since "[m]any officers - including union officials - arrived for work unaware of the [strike] plans."If notice of the strike had been given, then at the very least some civilian cover could have been brought in to avoid at least situations such as at Wakefield prison, where "the 745 inmates - including Soham killer Ian Huntley - [are] being guarded by no more than 20 senior managers."
The strike has been declared illegal, with
the Ministry of Justice [saying] that the strike was illegal under the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement, signed in November 2004.
Under that accord, the Government agreed to relax the legal bar – first introduced by the Conservatives in 1993 – on prison officers taking industrial action. The union decided to walk away from that agreement in May this year but its 12-month notice period has yet to expire. (The Times)
The prison officers should go back to work. They are opening themselves up to a severe undermining of their position of authority within prisons by defying the courts, exampled by inmates at Cardiff prison taunting a picket line in the car park with shouts of "You're breaking the law".Under that accord, the Government agreed to relax the legal bar – first introduced by the Conservatives in 1993 – on prison officers taking industrial action. The union decided to walk away from that agreement in May this year but its 12-month notice period has yet to expire. (The Times)
They should get a better settlement from the government than they are offered, especially considering that assaults on prison staff have risen to eight per day. After all, considering that they can afford to basically throw £3bn away, they should be able to factor in a pay rise for prison staff.
Sources: BBC, The Times, The Telegraph
