Last-ditch talks to secure prison overtime deal
Prison Service boss Sean Aylward asked to meet executives from the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) when he sent them his final offer late on Friday.
The offer did not meet the POA’s demands, but indicated that further discussions could be held.
The POA said the current offer - 460 hours of compulsory overtime at a rate of 1.8 times the hourly rate - does not predict when officers will have to work.
Nor does it offer pension entitlements on the overtime hours worked.
“Predictability and pensionability are two huge issues,” said Eugene Dennehy of the POA yesterday.
“Officers need to know that if they sign up to working a 47-hour week, from a 39-hour week, when they will be required to work and when they will be off.”
He pointed out that in other annualised hour agreements, like in Guinness and Irish Cement, pensionability was given to workers.
He said the final offer sent to POA offices by Mr Aylward on Friday did not move these matters further.
“It does talk about further discussions. We were looking for a final position. It’s difficult to know where we’re going. But they’ll sit down and talk to us about flexibility.”
He said the POA still intended to begin balloting their members on the deal this Saturday. Balloting will continue for 21 days.
Prison authorities and the Justice Minister Michael McDowell have been accused of threatening prison officers with jail closures and privatisation, both of services, such as prisoner escorts, and institutions, if they reject the deal.
The overtime bill will cost the Prison Service €64 million this year.
The POA will also discuss with Mr Aylward reports in The Sunday Business Post yesterday that Mr McDowell will seek Government approval to close the Mountjoy Jail complex at a Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
The Mountjoy site could raise €60m, an estimated €45m of which could go to build a jail on the M50, on the outskirts of the city.
The POA said huge sums of public money had already gone into refurbishing Mountjoy.
Mr McDowell has mooted on several occasions the closure of Mountjoy, which is near the city centre.
He said one option was that a private developer could build a new prison and receive the Mountjoy site as a land swap.
