News Room

It is with great sadness that I am writing to inform you of the passing of our Honorary Life Member, and former Assistant General Secretary late last night.

Mark Fairhurst Chair of the Prison Officers Association said: "The Justice System lurches from crisis to crisis. The prison estate cannot cope with the existing prison population and now the Government has announced they can cope with unpredicted rises in the prison population without explaining where all the additional staff will come from..."

It is with great sadness we report to the membership the death of Honorary Life Member Andy Hogg, who passed away on Sunday 9 March following a short illness.

The POA's Assistant General Secretary Mick Pimblett discusses the POA’s stance on the lack of rights to any form of industrial action for prison workers and the absence of their reinstatement from the Government's new Workers Rights Bill

POA General Secretary Steve Gillan calls on all MPs to stand up for working people by supporting John McDonnell’s amendments to the Workers Rights Bill

The current WULF Project Manager, Nigel Williamson will be retiring at the end of April 2025, therefore this will create a vacancy for a new Project Manager.

As you are aware, in 1994 the right to strike for Prison Officers was removed by the then Tory Government via S127 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The right of Prison officers to withdraw their labour is a fundamental human right recognised by the United Nations and should be reinstated for all the UK’s Prison Officers according to the Prison Officers Union. 

The NEC have been made aware that there are increasing instances of fires due to Domestic Cooking and Refrigeration Facilities on Residential Units.

As you are aware, Joe Simpson passed away last year after a short illness. I previously informed you that as per his and his family’s wishes there was no funeral held, and it was Joe’s wish that he had a pure cremation.