Threat of prison officers’ strike over overtime pay increases

PRISON officers yesterday accused their employers of failing to come with any concrete proposals to cut the €60m annual overtime bill, increasing the threat of a strike.

The officers have been given until the end of July to agree on a package of measures designed to effectively eliminate the overtime bill.

But the Prison Officers’ Association, following a meeting with the Irish Prison Service yesterday, claimed there are no detailed proposals on the table. “It now becomes clear that we were given 90 days to agree to proposals that do not exist,” said senior POA official Gerry Wilson.

The Irish Prison Service declined to comment on the meeting yesterday.

A framework document, outlining what measures should be taken to cut the bill, was delivered to the POA last Friday. Mr Wilson said the six-page document is all that the service, with the help of the Justice Department, could come up with.

“We are being asked to enter into meaningful talks on the basis of blank spaces and simply cannot proceed on that basis. Let them present us with details and then at least we can enter into meaningful negotiations,” he said.