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OUT in force ... Buckley Hall prison wardens on the picket lines.
Prison drama as warders walk out
Bethan Dorsett1/ 9/2007
BUCKLEY Hall Prison was hit by a strike when more than 60 warders staged a walk-out.
Leaving just a ‘handful’ of staff to guard 385 inmates, the prison officers argued they had no choice but to take drastic action due to what they called ‘low pay’ and the strains of overcrowding.
The drama started just after 10am on Wednesday, when the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) declared a surprise 24-hour strike in response to the government’s two-tier pay offer – 1.5 per cent, followed by 1 per cent in November.
The strike ended later that night after a High Court injunction against the POA.
Among the 61 on the picket line at Buckley Hall was union representative Lynn Horsfield, who expressed her fears for those left inside the prison.
She said: “There is just a handful of staff left inside and I have been told they are serving food to the prisoners and holding workshops.
“It is a very dangerous situation where both the staff and the prisoners are at risk. We don’t want to be on strike but we have to make a stand.
“We could face disciplinary action or even the sack because of this, but we can not carry on with things as they are.”
The industrial action was sparked by the government’s controversial decision to award prison workers a 2.5 per cent pay offer – already below the rate of inflation – in two stages, reducing its value to 1.9 per cent.
Ms Horsfield said this move left union members furious, since warders receive less pay in comparison to the police.
“Prison officers always seem to get bad press and I don’t think anyone realises what a very good job we do.
“We are dealing with the most dangerous, violent members of society, in prisons that are at full capacity.
“But the average starting wage for a warder is only £17,000 a year and we don’t get any overtime pay for working these unsociable behaviours.
“This may explain why we just had to say ‘no more’ to the government.”
The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on the situation at Buckley Hall.
Speaking about the strike, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown said pay deals were staged to ensure economic stability.
He said: “Staging of pay awards is an essential part of the economy to ensure we have stability and so that can continue. We will not do anything to put that at risk.”
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2/09/2007 at 22:42