News Room

The debate over giving prison officers back their ‘industrial muscle’ is heating up, reports Charley Allan

The Scottish POA conference was held at Peebles Hydro again this year, a venue that has been host to us now for four years and always achieves excellent standards as far as guests and delegates are concerned.

The membership will have received notification of the death, on Friday 27 September, of Deputy General Secretary Joe Simpson. This was extremely upsetting for his family and partner, but also for those POA members and employees who had known Joe for many years. Joe Simpson was more than just a Deputy General Secretary to me; he was a man whom I considered to be a long-time friend and I will miss him.

The NEC, POA members and the wider trade union movement are still grieving the loss of POA Deputy General Secretary Joe Simpson.

This year, Phil Hannant (NEC) and I attended the annual Hazards Conference on behalf of the POA. The event brought together health and safety representatives from unions across the country, creating a valuable opportunity to share experiences and knowledge around workplace safety.

I would like to thank the membership for electing me as General Secretary for a fourth term of office.

As you are aware the NEC are committed to the continued training and development of local Branch Officials.

Thompsons Solicitors have recently produced a helpful guide for Health & Safety Reps.

The National Executive has become aware that many workplaces are experiencing problems with the prevalence of rats and mice in the workplace.

Annual Conference Motion 14/2024 set out new Terms of Reference for the Health and Safety Consultative Committee.