12:08pm Monday 23rd February 2009
PRISON officers in Risley have voted almost unanimously to reject new working conditions they said would have threatened their safety.
Results of a ballot of staff released on Thursday show 92 per cent threw out a Government cost-saving scheme that included plans which would have seen lower ranking staff having control over prisoners on some wings.
But these staff members do not currently have any contact time and worries are high that their promotion could threaten the overall safety of the jail.
Now the Prison Officers Association (POA) says they fear the Government will now make staffing cuts as they bid to save hundreds of thousands of pounds. Officers nationally also voted to throw out the plans Nick Pimblett, branch secretary of the Risley branch of the POA, said the scale of the objection merely highlighted the strength of feeling.
He added: “There are quite a lot of our staff who could have stood to benefit from this in terms of a pay rise.
“There concerns were mainly the safety factor for the staff on the wings.”
Mr Pimblett said while the vote against the changes was high, he is now worried about what other cuts could be proposed.
He added: “Clearly there could be an issue now around staff cuts.
“We have been told more cuts are now on the way and we do not know how much they will be.”
Other changes suggested were that officers had to pass fitness tests to prove they could do the job.
The Government says staff have been offered an “attractive” deal which will see officers get an extra five per cent over the next three years.
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