Prison Officers Association
Encyclopedia
The POA: The Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (formerly known as the Prison Officers' Association) is a trade union
in the United Kingdom "for prison, correctional and secure psychiatric workers." It currently has a membership of 33,500. The POA's motto is 'Unity is Strength'.
in the same year. By July 1915, around 500 out of a total of 4000 staff had joined the union, but many became disillusioned and left after the POF failed to win a petition for a war time bonus for prison officers.. Subsequently, the POF amalgamated in 1918 with its rival union the National Union of Police and Prison Officers (NUPPO) which had been formed in 1913.
, where 70 prison officers at Wormwood Scrubs
and a few from Birmingham joined the strike, all of whom were dismissed, trade unions of police and prison workers were made illegal. Instead, a representative body, the Prison Officer's Representation Board was created, but this was seen as an inadequate measure to defend prison officers' interests. This was appointed by and responsible to the Home Office
, could not call a strike
and were not permitted to have formal links with other labour organisations through the Trades Union Congress
or Scottish Trades Union Congress
. Whilst the Representation Board failed to secure most of improvements in prison officers conditions it argued for, it did secure the replacement of the term 'warder' by 'officer'.
A claim for improved pay for prison officers was presented in May 1938 through this mechanism, and on 1 June 1938 won a 10% pay increase. The central board members then pushed to be treated as civil servants and for an extension of the system of Whitley Councils in that sector to prisons. The POA was granted a certificate of approval by the Treasury on 25 September 1939 and came into being with 3,500 members.
. Despite a large prison building programme including 17 medium security and open prisons and borstal
s, prisons became more and more overcrowded leading to the introduction of 'threeing-up'. The abolition of the death penalty also led to introduction into the prison system of large numbers of decade-spanning sentences for convicted serious offenders.
All these factors led to deteriorating pay, conditions and overstretching of prison officers, which led to a rising tide of disputes in the 1970s, Fitzgerald and Sim note that
government in 1992 laid down that the POA could no longer be a trade union. This was reversed in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, but prison officers were still denied the right to take industrial action. This right was restored in 2004 to prison officers in the public sector in England
, Wales
and Scotland
, but not in Northern Ireland
or to prison officers in the private sector.
On the 29th August 2007, the POA started a 24 hour walkout of prisons, picketing establishments asking Prison Officers not to attend work for their shift. This was the first ever national strike action taken by the POA. The POA reported that 90% of its members (27,000) went on strike that day.
In January 2008, the Home Secretary
announced that the government planned to reintroduce powers to ban strikes by Prison Officers in England and Wales
. However, the Scottish Government has ruled out similar measures for Prison Officers in Scotland
.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in the United Kingdom "for prison, correctional and secure psychiatric workers." It currently has a membership of 33,500. The POA's motto is 'Unity is Strength'.
Background
The roots of the POA can be traced back to the launch in 1910 of the underground magazine, 'Prison Officers' Magazine', under the editorship of Fred Ludlow, the magazine was otherwise known as the 'Red-Un' after the colour of its cover. After the editorship was taken over by E.R. Ramsey (Hubert Witchard) in 1915 and a more radical tone was adopted, this led in 1916 to the formation of the Prison Officers' Federation, which affiliated to the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in the same year. By July 1915, around 500 out of a total of 4000 staff had joined the union, but many became disillusioned and left after the POF failed to win a petition for a war time bonus for prison officers.. Subsequently, the POF amalgamated in 1918 with its rival union the National Union of Police and Prison Officers (NUPPO) which had been formed in 1913.
1918/19 Police Strike
However, following police strikes in 1918 & 1919Police strike 1918 and 1919
The Police Strikes of 1918 and 1919 resulted in the British government putting before Parliament its proposals for a Police Act, which established the Police Federation of England and Wales as the representative body for the police. The Act also barred police from belonging to a trade union or...
, where 70 prison officers at Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha , and one of the largest areas of common land in London...
and a few from Birmingham joined the strike, all of whom were dismissed, trade unions of police and prison workers were made illegal. Instead, a representative body, the Prison Officer's Representation Board was created, but this was seen as an inadequate measure to defend prison officers' interests. This was appointed by and responsible to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, could not call a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
and were not permitted to have formal links with other labour organisations through the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
or Scottish Trades Union Congress
Scottish Trades Union Congress
The Scottish Trades Union Congress is the co-ordinating body of trade unions, and local Trades Councils, in Scotland. With 39 affiliated unions as of 2007, the STUC represents around 630,000 trade unionists....
. Whilst the Representation Board failed to secure most of improvements in prison officers conditions it argued for, it did secure the replacement of the term 'warder' by 'officer'.
Foundation
The above situation began to change in 1936, when a group of prison officers, including Harley Cronin, who had become weary of the failure of Representative Boards to win concessions were elected to the Central Board. One of the first moves of this group was to procure the services of William Brown and Len White of the Civil Service Clerical Association to help them negotiate with the Prisons Service through a series of secret meetings. The Central Board members made a formal demand to the Home Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare, that Prison Officers should have the right to appeal to an Independent Arbitration Board against employers' decisions and to have access to outside assistance in doing so. These demands were recognised and Brown and White, began formally pushing for the right to use the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, which was also conceded. In celebration of winning these demands prison officers held a meeting on the 5th April 1938 at the Blue Gliss Hall in Acton.A claim for improved pay for prison officers was presented in May 1938 through this mechanism, and on 1 June 1938 won a 10% pay increase. The central board members then pushed to be treated as civil servants and for an extension of the system of Whitley Councils in that sector to prisons. The POA was granted a certificate of approval by the Treasury on 25 September 1939 and came into being with 3,500 members.
The Post War Years
The years following the second world war saw a large increase in the size of the prison populationPrison population of England and Wales
There are 139 prisons in England and Wales, with 19 built since 1995. Seven prisons are private: built under the Private Finance Initiative, they are termed DCMF prisons and revert to the government after 25 years. A further two prisons are privately managed but were built with public money...
. Despite a large prison building programme including 17 medium security and open prisons and borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
s, prisons became more and more overcrowded leading to the introduction of 'threeing-up'. The abolition of the death penalty also led to introduction into the prison system of large numbers of decade-spanning sentences for convicted serious offenders.
All these factors led to deteriorating pay, conditions and overstretching of prison officers, which led to a rising tide of disputes in the 1970s, Fitzgerald and Sim note that
"In each year between 1973 and 1975, prison officers took action on an average of seven occasions. In 1976, the number rose to thirty-four, in 1977 to forty-two and in 1978 to 114. The number of institutions involved in these disputes showed a similar increase. Over fifty different forms of action were taken by officers during this period, classified by the Home Office into three major groups. Firstly, actions which interfered with the administration of justice; for example, refusal to escort prisoners to and from courts, refusal to allow lawyers, probation officers or police to visit prisoners, and refusal to act as dock officers in Crown Courts. Secondly, thirty-nine types of action which interfered with the administration of the prisons, ranging from refusal to co-operate with civilian workers, welfare staff, and disciplinary proceedings and the refusal to allow workshops to function, to the refusal to fly the flag at half-mast on the death of Archbishop Makarios. Thirdly, action which directly with the prison regime, including bans on visits, education classes, letters, bathing, laundry, and association."
Trade Union Status
Questions were raised about the POA's status in the 1990s. In 1994, a legal decision determined that it was illegal to induce prison officers to take industrial action - a law which had applied to police officers since 1919 - meaning that the POA could not call strike action amongst its members. New labour legislation introduced by the ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government in 1992 laid down that the POA could no longer be a trade union. This was reversed in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, but prison officers were still denied the right to take industrial action. This right was restored in 2004 to prison officers in the public sector in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, but not in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
or to prison officers in the private sector.
On the 29th August 2007, the POA started a 24 hour walkout of prisons, picketing establishments asking Prison Officers not to attend work for their shift. This was the first ever national strike action taken by the POA. The POA reported that 90% of its members (27,000) went on strike that day.
In January 2008, the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
announced that the government planned to reintroduce powers to ban strikes by Prison Officers in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. However, the Scottish Government has ruled out similar measures for Prison Officers in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
General Secretaries
- 1939 - 1963: Harley Cronin
- 1963 - 1972: Fred Castell
- 1972 - 1981: Ken Daniel
- 1981 - 2000: David Evans
- 2000 - 2010: Brian Caton
- 2010 - to date: Steve Gillan