PRISON officers at Dartmoor Jail could take strike action for the first time in the prison?s history, following a ballot of members of the Prison Officers? Association. A workplace ballot has been held among prison officers throughout England and Wales regarding the ?derisory? 2007 pay award ? it resulted in a call for industrial action ?up to and including strike action?. The award ? 1.9% from April, with the balance of the 2.5% offer to be paid in November ? is below the rate of inflation. Don Wood, whose prison is Dartmoor but who is seconded to the POA and sits on its national executive, said feelings were running high among the 200 members at Dartmoor. ?I?ve had so many phone calls about this ? they are all saying ?It?s about time? ? I think it?s like the straw that broke the camel?s back,? said Mr Wood. He said strike action at Dartmoor had always been avoided in the past. ?We?ve had disputes before and we?ve always managed to resolve them, but lifestyles at home are being affected,? he said. ?A 1.9% rise on £17,500 is derisory. A lot of members are telling me the price of property is rising faster here than anywhere else ? they can?t even afford an ex-local authority house now.? Mr Wood said strike action at Dartmoor was not imminent ? yet. The POA was currently waiting for a reply from the Home Secretary and prisons? minister, following a request for a meeting. ?We have to be fair and allow time for them to come and talk to us,? he said, adding that 80% of his members had voted for action up to and including strike action. If strike action were taken, he said, prisoners would not be able to get to courts and the prison regime would be reduced. ?We wouldn?t open the gate and walk away. A safe regime would be put in place,? said Mr Wood, who added that next year?s terms of reference for pay had also been issued, which were once more below inflation. He also pointed out that officers were not allowed to do paid overtime, but were supposed to take time off in lieu. ?We are owed £6-million in unpaid overtime nationally,? he said. With prisons bursting at the seams, assaults against staff have also risen, fuelling concern among POA members. ?There are now eight assaults per day on average nationally,? Mr Wood said. ?At Dartmoor Prison there have been some serious ones of late, including one necessitating 16 stitches, another where an officer was beaten to the floor, and another where only a protective helmet saved an officer from being beaten to a pulp by an inmate with a stick.? Brian Caton, national general secretary of the POA, said the union did not enjoy the rights of other unions and could only ballot members to ascertain their views. However, the ballot had given an ?overwhelming mandate? for the union to take action if necessary. He said: ?Staff are fed up with being treated as second class citizens and being awarded a below-inflation pay award year on year. ?It is about time the Prison Service management board stood shoulder to shoulder with this union in its bid to be treated as a special case in respect of pay.? A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the Prison Service had not received official notification of the POA?s ballot result. She said: ?On May 8th the POA gave 12 months? notice of withdrawal from the Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement, which includes a legally binding collective agreement not to induce, support or authorise any form of industrial action. ?Pay rises for those at the top end of their pay scales have been below inflation for two years. But those still rising on the incremental pay scales are receiving above inflation rises. ?Prison officers work in an extremely difficult environment with some of the most difficult people in society; despite an increasing population there is no evidence of an increase in the rate of assaults on staff.?
