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Prison officers strike

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MrBen5 | 14:30 Wed 29th Aug 2007 | News
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Do you agree with the prison officer strike today?

I never knew they were allowed to strike.
Apparently, there are hundreds of human rights protesters no their way to parliament to hold a protest...
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I have just heard on the news also that thousands of offenders are being given leniency when they appear in court today due to this striking.
This means that there are potentially hundreds of 'guilty' criminals being let off.
You've given yourself three-stars for answering your own question.

How's that for leniency?
I heard on the news this year that for two years, prison officers have been awarded a pay rise less than inflation.

In real terms this means they've been awarded pay cuts. This year, the independent pay review board recommended a pay rise of 2.5%, which the government reduced to 1.9%.

With this in mind, I don't see what else they can do but strike. I want the people who are responsible for the most dangerous elements in our society to be properly rewarded.

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Should they be allowed to strike though?
What next? the armed forces striking...
You don't 'allow' a strike.

It would defeat the purpose.
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Ahh but ChinaDoll certain workers are not allowed to strike.
(I suppose you wasnt to know this though)
Can you imagine if all the doctors and nurses decided to hold a strike tomorrow morning at 07:00?
Oh dear. Not a good start m'dear.

Nurses and Doctors can strike. As can paramedic staff, admin in hospitals, techinical supprt and other health care professionals. Unfortunately because it puts peoples lives at risk and any work caring for peolpe is seen as vocational it is rarely done.

However it might interest you to know that the trade unions are actively involved in the implementing of hospital policy and that there is usually a union representative on site in hospitals.

They can strike. They choose not to.

One for you now...

How would you stop someone from striking? I mean if you don't allow it you'd have to stop it right? So how?
According to teletext the Government have a High Court injunction ordering the wardens bach to work, only the wardens are refusing to return.

As previouly posted how do you force hundreds of people to return to work?
oh dear....does this strike mean that prisoners will be locked in their cells for longer.........goodeeee!

high five to the prison warders!

XXX
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Hmmm, well by your way of thinking the i suppose the only way to stop people from striking is to give them their pay rise. To accommodate that they can increase our taxes.

My way to stop people striking would be to either :-

1. Get rid of a few colleagues, then give them their rise, but make them work harder for it.
2. Give them a final warning. (this will make it easier to get rid of the trouble makers in future and deter potential strikers in future).
3. Renew all their contracts (with amended small print).
4. Do job evaluations on all the prison service jobs...

I know it may seem better with the prisoners being locked up for a few hours more, but what about all the potential prisoners who are being let off because of this strike?
1) Health & Safety Risk. Policies and protocols allow for a certain amount of staff.

2) You can't give a final warning unless you have issued other warnings and gone down the correct HR disciplinary procedure.

3)You can't change a contract without having a full consultation process which would take a long time and have to be done in conjunction with the unions. Any changes they dislike could mean that they strike anyway.

4) Job evaluation evaluates the job. It has nothing to do with the pay.

Any other ideas?
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Sorry China Doll i put them in the wrong order.
1. Job evalutions and time and motion to be carried out on all prison staff.
2. Have them all graded and made to re-apply for their job.
3. Amend contracts accordingly with addition strike details in small print.
4. if they still chhose to strike, give them all a final warning or dismissal.
I think striking by staff in key jobs in this day and age is disgraceful.
When i am in power...
1) Job evaluations still only evaluate the job. They do not take in to account the pay. Pay rates are set by the goverment. (Usually after they've been advised by an expensive consultancy firm who they can afford to pay over the staff).

2) It was called Agenda for Change when they did this in hospitals. You do not need to reapply for your job.

3) You can not tell people they can not strike. It just doesn't work like that. It would defeat the purpose. And even if you could and you fired a load of people because they went on strike over something they didn't like you are talking about a public relations nightmare!

4) You can't dismiss or final warning them as you still haven't gone down the correct HR process. Unless striking was a sackable offence which I've covered in point 3.

I don't much care what you think as the simple truth is it's rarely done anyway. Because if you strike in the public sector you are automatically perceived as a villain. It's the nature of the beast.

You might want to consider that strikes in the public sector can also alert the public to dangerous practices which need changing.

When you are in power the devil will be ice-skating on the lake of fire.
Just to avoid confusion, employment works like this.

By default, you are under no obligation to work. You can sleep in a bush and eat berries all day if you want. You are absolutely free.

You give up this freedom to do a job. You give to your employers your time and effort. In return, they give you money. You're selling them a service.

If at any time, you decide that the terms you're being offered don't compensate you for the time and effort you're expending, you are utterly within your rights to end the agreement. And go back to doing nothing. You're a free person in a free country.

If your colleagues feel the same way, you can strike. The employer than has to decide whether to end the agreement or to alter the terms. If they end the agreement, they lose their workforce and have to find other people to do it - people who are happy with the terms.

The prison officers are under no obligation to work in these conditions for less and less money. If they like it, they can carry on. If they don't they walk out. And it's up to their employers to decide how to proceed.

(It's like when people say that their company 'gives' them a certain amount of holidays. No, the holidays already belong to you. You're just not selling your time on those days.)
NJOK, for some reason sleeping in a bush and eating berries all day looked really appealing, possibly as my mini sabbatical has come to an end and I am back to work next month, arrghh!
MrBen5, I used to work at Manchester prison, and, following on from the riot, we had to bid for our own jobs. Fortunately, we won, and were promised a 5 year contract, and providing that all targets were met, a further 3 x 3 year periods. All targets were not only met, but surpassed, (I know this as I audited them), yet, after 5 years, we once again had to bid against the private sector for our jobs. We won again, but to be commercially competitive, had to lose 124 uniformed staff! Fair play there, then.

China Doll, pay levels are subject to an Independant Pay Review Commission, (IPRC) the findings of which have been ignored over the past few years. Last year, staff on the long term increment, which would have included me, had I still been in the Service, received no pay increase at all! An interesting point to note was that prison dog handlers received a greater percentage rise in food allowance for their dogs than they were awarded in pay. Sort of puts you in your place!

The short answer is that prison officers entered into a no strike agreement some years ago, as part of a whole package of agreements, including the IPRC. As the government is not keeping to it's side of the bargain, why should the prison staff. In its 68 years of existence, the POA has never called for a national strike. Yes, there have been local and national disputes, but nothing has ever gone this far. I feel it is an indication of the anger and frustration that prison staff must be feeling at this moment, and I wish them well.
Sado, I figured it might be something like that. It's fairly similar in the NHS. Think that went down the McKenzie (sp I think) route.

What have your unions said about the fact that the findings keep being ignored?

GS Save me some berries.
Well said, Sado. Worth reading to the bottom of the thread.
And China Doll. an employer can issue a Final Written Warning without previous verbal or written warnings having been issued.
They can buildersmate but it is usually for something that is considered gross misconduct, (in my experience). My point was just that a strike is not an instantly dismissible offence is all.

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