PRISON OFFICERS WALK OUT

Gordon Brown is always banging on about the threat of terrorism, the importance of security, and takes a generally authoritarian stance on matters of crime and punishment. So it's kind of ironic that our prison staff are clearly under-valued and under-paid. And of course the Govt is quick to condemn today's strike action as "illegal." Maybe it is ( thanks to Tory anti trade union laws which New Labour has failed to repeal) It is also entirely justified.
Let's face it, how would Ministers feel if THEY were being offered a pay deal which amounted to a below inflation "rise" ( compare and contrast with levels of director's pay below)
The one-day strike by the Prison Officers' Association,backed by 87 per cent of POA members, is an entirely understandable expression of frustration at increasngly difficult working conditions - and obviously financial hardship.
Around 140 prisons are expected to be affected and the strike is expected to last at least 24 hours.
POA chair Colin Moses says today: "This is about the treatment given to prison officers in England and Wales. We have been given a below-inflation pay award, of 1.9%, for the second year running," Expect more industrial action in the months ahead as anger mounts over Brown's determination to keep public sector pay down .