Justice secretary wins injunction to stop prison officers’ industrial action

The justice secretary, Liz Truss, has won a high court injunction blocking an escalating programme of industrial action by prison officers over pay and conditions in increasingly violent jails across England and Wales.

The move halts plans by the Prison Officers’ Association, due to be implemented from Wednesday, to withdraw from “voluntary tasks” such as taking part in Tornado riot teams, control and restraint, suicide assessments and carrying out hostage negotiations.

The union insisted refusing to undertake such voluntary roles did not amount to industrial action. The POA is banned from taking industrial action under legislation introduced by the former Conservative home secretary, Michael Howard.

A high court judge, Mr Justice Leggatt, granted a last-minute application from the Ministry of Justice to ban the union action. “It seems to me that the evidence indicates the proposed action constitutes industrial action,” he said.

Prison officers had planned to withdraw from voluntary tasks but the union said its members would respond if lives were at risk. The proposed programme of industrial action followed the rejection by the POA membership of a new pay and conditions package, which includes a phased withdrawal from overtime and additional duties from April, leading to a ban from July.

During a Commons urgent question on Tuesday the justice minister, Sam Gyimah, said the POA’s industrial action “will seriously disrupt normal operations in prisons” and put at risk the safety of prisoners and prison staff.

He disputed that duties such as assessing suicide risk were voluntary tasks, telling MPs they were essential to the running of a prison.

Gyimah previously indicated that “extensive contingency plans” were in place. The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, said the situation could have been easily avoided by talking to the POA before imposing the divisive pay package. “He says he has the POA chairman on speed dial. He may be calling but he is not communicating,” he said.

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 stopped when the MoJ 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 [are] as a result of staff shortfalls and budget cuts.”

The POA circular said the list of voluntary tasks from which members would withdraw 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”.

Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah said on Tuesday: “I’m pleased the POA has withdrawn the circular detailing plans for unlawful industrial action on Wednesday 1 March following the granting of today’s High Court injunction.

“We will continue to work closely with the POA in order to retain the invaluable experience within our workforce and recognise the expertise and dedication of prison staff across the estate.”

Gyimah earlier told the Commons justice select committee that the MoJ had granted 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.

The union’s national chair, Mike Rolfe, and general secretary, Steve Gillan, said the latest pay increase has not been welcomed by their members in the 31 prisons because they see it as divisive.

They also disputed that the 31 selected prisons all faced recruitment and retention problems. “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.

An MoJ spokesman said a “good offer” had been made to the union in December, which had been endorsed by its national executive but rejected in a ballot of the membership. “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.

Source: The Guardian