New Year message from the National Chair

POA members know how poor and dangerous the physical state of most UK prisons is.  The union is determined to secure a change for the better and is being supported by MPs such as Kim Johnson (Lab, Liverpool Riverside). Kim has tabled an Early Day Motion calling for the in-sourcing of buildings maintenance work, and in this episode discusses why this issue is so close to her heart, what she hopes the motion will achieve and how POA members and local reps can help. The episode also features testimonies from local reps on the awful conditions they have to work in, and national chair Mark Fairhurst assesses why privatisation has failed so badly and the politics of achieving improvements. More information from poauk.org.uk

National Chair Mark Fairhurst, General Secretary Steve Gillan and National Vice-Chair Dave Todd give an update on latest activity in support of the union's pay claim for 2025 following submission of a written claim to the Prison Service Pay Review Body.

In this new year message, national chair Mark Fairhurst looks forward to 2025 being the year when POA members are heard with increasing clarity on a range of issues including pay,  changes to the Open estate regime, and the in-sourcing of contracted-out building maintenance work, alongside long-running campaigns on “68 is too late”, the right to strike and creating a safer working environment.  Keep up to date at poauk.org.uk and to support the insourcing campaign, click here for details.

Coinciding with a feature article in the winter 2024 edition of Gatelodge, NEC member Jackie Marshall, former National Chair John Boddington MBE and Paul Evans from Bradford City Council talk about the origins and enduring importance of this much-loved annual event, which keeps memories alive of those lost and injured in the tragic fire at Bradford City FC in May 1985.  More information in Gatelodge magazine and at poauk.org.uk

The POA, like 33 other unions in the UK and Ireland, is affiliated to Justice For Columbia. In this episode, we explore what that relationship means in practice, the vital difference it makes to the POA's counterparts in Colombia, and why the struggles faced in the UK and Colombia are much closer to each other than people may think. All information correct as of September 2024. More information at poauk.org.uk

General Secretary Steve Gillan introduces speakers at an event in Parliament held last month to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the removal of prison officers’ right to take industrial action and to urge support for the union’s ongoing campaign for this right to be restored throughout the UK, as it has already been in Scotland.   Those participating include National Chair Mark Fairhurst, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak, Mick Whelan from Aslef, Mick Lynch from the RMT, Martin Kavanagh of PCS, and Jo Grady of the University and Colleges Union. Parliamentarians who supported and spoke at the event were members of the Justice team such as Lord John Atlee and former POA branch chair-now-MP Sally Jameson, Parliamentary Justice Union’s chair Liz Saville Roberts MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP and Justice Select Committee Chair Andy Slaughter MP.  Clare Mellor from leading trade union law firm Thompsons also contributed.   A strong show of support from the union’s many friends and allies both inside and outside Westminster. Original sound recording by Consequential Films. More information at poauk.org.uk.

Following the removal, in 1994, of the right to strike in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Prison Service Pay Awards have been recommended to government by a Pay Reivew Body. In this episode GS Steve Gillan and AGS Andy Baxter look at whether this so-called "compensatory mechanism" is a fair alternative, how the POA interacts with it to try and get the best for members, and the union's continuing campaign for the restoration of the right to take industrial action as and when necessary. More information at poauk.org.uk

The POA’s new health and safety structure has now been augmented by a refreshed reporting system for accidents and near misses.  In this episode, Assistant General Secretary Mick Pimblett, NEC members Jackie Marshall and Health and Safety Consultative Committee member Paul Telford from HMP Frankland discuss the importance of good reporting and reflect on how the HSCC has marked a step change in this vital area of POSA activity.  More information at poauk.org.uk. The retired members' survey is still open - screenshot the QR code for access.

The Committee recently hosted it’s first gathering for Retired Members at the Cassa Club in Liverpool.  We hear from the national officials, committee members, retired members and guests who were there on the importance and value of such events, their hopes for the future and the importance of a just-launched retired members' survey - the QR code in the podcast logo will take you to the questionnaire. Original audio recording by Consequential Films. More information at https://www.poauk.org.uk/our-union/retired-members/

National Chair Mark Fairhurst gives a key update on the POA members' survey and prison overcrowding. More information at poauk.org.uk. Running time 11.45s