|
|
Press releasesREF: PR/05/05 DATE: 22nd March 2005 To: ALL POLITICAL PRESS RELEASE POA Condemns Prison PrivatisationThe Prison Officers' Association have today reacted angrily to the announcement that the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) have decided to press ahead with plans to Market Test the three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey, Elmley, Stanford Hill and Swaleside. Colin Moses, National Chair of the POA, said of the announcement: "This ideologically based move is in no way designed to improve the performance or standards of these establishments; these prisons are amongst the most modern highly performing prisons in the public sector." The recent commitments given to the trades union movement by Tony Blair and David Miliband on the extension of the Two-Tier-Workforce protections across the whole of the public sector will mean that for any private sector prison operator to win this bid, and maintain their profit margin, they will have to slash staff numbers. On this Colin Moses said: "Staff numbers in our prisons in recent years have already been cut back to the minimum, any further cuts will put at risk the health and safety, not only of staff but of those in our care. This move is an outright betrayal of the pledges made the New Labour prior to coming to power. We do not want to see our members or those in their care sacrificed on the alter of the profit margin." Colin Moses went on to say; "If the Government, Home Office and Martin Narey want our support on this matter they must put this new Market Testing Programme on hold until they can show the POA, Members of Parliament and the general public that this process is justified. We are sick and tiered of being told that the private sector can deliver, when we know that this process is more about having prison on the cheap than it is about reducing re-offending." The POA has vowed to fight these proposals on behalf of our members, offenders sentenced to prison by the courts and their families. The use of the private sector to drive down staffing levels and thereby cost is putting the lives of all at risk.
|
  |
 |
|
