Prison staff stay at home in unofficial dispute

It has been reported that up to 85% of prison officers have failed to turn in for work today in a show of the their dissatisfaction over the way in which the IRA intelligence gathering revelations has been handled.

The stay-away officers are part of an unofficial protest at the level of payments for staff whose details were found to be on a list held by republican paramilitaries. That list was held on a laptop which was recovered during a police investigation against republican intelligence gathering on October 4.

Police officers have been brought in to fill the gaps but services have been affected with all visits to Maghaberry, Magilligan and Hydebank suspended for the day.

The Director General of the Prison Service, Peter Russell, said today that he understood that the recent revelations were "a source of great anxiety" but said the Prison Service had been "doing its best". Mr Russell also expressed his "deep sympathy with the anger and anxiety being felt by the staff".

"We have been making unstinting efforts to support our staff in terms of communicating with them as soon as we know some new development," he said.

"I am keen to bring this dispute to an agreed conclusion. The way to do that it to talk around the table and not under the threat of industrial action."

Of the 1,426 people who are on the list, so far only 900 have been informed. The list of staff particularly relates to officers serving in Magilligan, Maghaberry and the Maze as of autumn 2001. Some retired officers were also present on the list.

All those who have been notified of the threat, will face a risk assessment and will automatically qualify for the Key Persons Protection Scheme.

Mr Russell said that the police believe that there is no evidence that staff at Hydebank are under similar threat.

Chairman of the Prison Officers Association, Finlay Spratt, said: "This is not about money, this is about the Prison Service and the PSNI not able to confirm to approximately 200 staff that they are under no threat… and they're ignoring the fact that these families were left for six weeks believing that their names were on these lists. They can't walk away from the responsibility."

Prison staff have been angered by the initial £250 offer made to prison officers for upgrades to home security. However, the director general claimed that the offer was "short term".

Mr Russell said: "People eligible for the Key Persons Protection Scheme will get thousands not hundreds of pounds spent on their houses. For people who move home… our scheme involves expenditure typically of a five-figure sum – it is not unusual for us to spend £25,000 on an individual moving home."

(GMcG)