Talks to avert NI prison strikes
Prisons Minister Paul Goggins is to meet the Prison Officers Association later as talks continue to avert the threat of strike action in NI prisons.
It follows a dispute over disciplinary action and sick leave after the death of a prisoner on suicide watch.
Colin Bell hanged himself in Maghaberry jail last August while some staff were sleeping or watching television.
The Prison Officers’ Association say subsequent disciplinary action has been extended to other officers.
They fear that, under new procedures, civil servants may now be able to decide when a prison officer is well enough to return to work.
Last week, Maghaberry prison was labelled one of the most expensive in the United Kingdom and also one of the worst by a team of inspectors.
The report by Criminal Justice Inspection NI and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, which was published on Tuesday, said Maghaberry was one of three jails out of 169 inspected which was particularly poor in the area of safety.
It said the jail failed to meet standards in all four of the internationally recognised tests for prisoner welfare.
This was the third damning report on Maghaberry this year.
