Prison officers still can’t strike over 2.2% award

The POA prison officers’ union has failed in its legal battle to pull out of its voluntary no-strike agreement.

Angered by this year’s 2.2% increase for operational support grades, which was recommended by the Prison Service’s Pay Review Body (PRB) and accepted by the government in February, the union said the decision to stage the 2007 pay award – against the PRB’s recommendation – had rendered the no-strike agreement invalid. But even though it had only signed the agreement on the understanding that the PRB would ensure fairness in pay awards, the High Court held last month that the union was still bound by the agreement.

The PRB’s other recommendations for 2008, all of which have been accepted by the government, include a new six-point incremental scale for operational support grades (aimed at improving retention by speeding up pay progression) and a 2.7% increase for senior officers and some principal officers from 1 April. Locality pay and specialist allowances remain unchanged.