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Press releasesREF: PR/41/07 DATE: 29th August 2007 To: ALL POLITICAL PRESS RELEASE National Strike Impacts at Local LevelThe Prison Service faces a crisis as the POA’s first national strike in England and Wales starts to take effect. Colin Moses National Chairman of the POA said: “It has been well documented that the Government has failed to address the chronic situation faced by staff working in overcrowded, understaffed and unsafe prisons in England and Wales. Today, members of the POA have withdrawn their labour leaving prison service management in turmoil as they try to organise the daily routine of prison life. This situation could have easily been resolved with forward planning and a decent pay award. Unfortunately the government have done neither and now the service is in meltdown”. Brian Caton General Secretary of the POA said, “This union has been forced to accept below inflation pay awards, treated as second class citizens because this government failed to uphold the promises made whilst in opposition. Our trade union rights were stripped away by the Tory government in 1993. Since then we have campaigned, lobbied and challenged through the courts to have our human rights as workers restored, all to no avail. This government has ignored us, subjected us to “no strike agreements” and abused the goodwill of the professional men and women who work in the prison service. Today is the first step of this union taking back what is rightfully its own, that being trade union rights.”
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