Unions demand prison officers are allowed to strike

National chairman of the Prison Officer Association says Labour ‘either for the working class or they’re against us’

Prison officers must be allowed to strike, unions have said, as they piled pressure on the Government to scrap “pernicious” legislation banning walkouts.
Under Section 127 of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act 1994, it is illegal to “induce” a prison officer “to take (or continue to take) any industrial action”.
The Trades Union Congress backed a motion calling for the law to be repealed at its annual conference in Brighton on Monday.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, claimed Labour were in favour of scrapping the legislation in opposition, but “conveniently forgot” to include the pledge in their package of workers’ rights reforms.
He also accused the previous Labour government, led by Gordon Brown, of breaking a promise to the union to deliver the change.
He told the conference: “Thirty years, 30 long years, we have been subject to Section 127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, and the last Labour government in opposition assured us that if they got into power, they would repeal it. They failed us.
“And this Government was in favour of it in opposition, they agreed we should have our trade union rights back. So it’s time for them to deliver. And they’ve said in the first 100 days of power, they will repeal anti-trade union legislation, but conveniently forgot about Section 127 of the 1994 Act.
“Well, their decision on this will tell us all we need to know about this Labour Government, because they’re either for the working class or they’re against us.”
He added: “Let’s ditch this piece of legislation in the Brighton sea at the front of this hall, and if the Labour Government refused to repeal it, they can damn well join it in the drink.
“So Congress, I ask you, let’s get rid of this pernicious piece of legislation once and for all. Give us our trade union rights back, our human rights back, our workplace rights back, but more importantly, give me the right to strike back.”
The motion, which said the “pernicious piece of legislation should and must be repealed”, was passed at the conference on Monday.