Guards who defied prison strike given £100 gift vouchers ...paid for by you
SCORES of prison officers who refused to join a mass walkout are being rewarded with £100 shopping vouchers funded by the taxpayer.
Guards protecting some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals who stayed on duty while a union held a 24-hour walkout in a dispute over rising levels of violence behind bars will receive the vouchers as a ‘token of appreciation’.
The rewards are due to be handed out to officers at Category A prisons Belmarsh, Whitemoor and Long Lartin, as well as HMP Portland, a young offenders institution.
Last night, a leading union official claimed the practice of handing out shopping vouchers is even more widespread, meaning the taxpayer could be facing a bill worth thousands of pounds to fund the rewards.
It is thought the officers will be receiving Love2shop vouchers which are redeemable in a host of popular stores, including Debenhams, Argos, House of Fraser and Toys R Us, as well as Pizza Express.
The revelation comes after up to 10,000 prison officers were forced to return to work during a 24-hour walkout this month when the Government won a High Court bid to halt industrial action.
The Prison Officers’ Association, which organised the action after talks broke down, claimed the Government was in breach of its contract by failing to provide a safe place of work.
But the Ministry of Justice insisted the industrial action was not justified, with Justice Secretary Liz Truss calling it ‘unlawful’.
Steve Gillan, POA general secretary, condemned the practice of handing out shopping vouchers, branding it a ‘bribe’. He said: ‘The taxpayer will be astonished that this sort of thing goes on. It’s a disgraceful use of taxpayers’ money. Perhaps they should invest more money in overall pay rather than singling out individuals for bonuses. To bribe staff in this way is morally repugnant.’
Mr Gillan said he was aware that the policy was more widespread. He is demanding the National Offender Management Service, which runs Britain’s prisons, reveals how many vouchers and other financial incentives are being given out.
The Mail on Sunday has seen a letter distributed to staff at Long Lartin, Worcestershire, who did not participate in industrial action, telling them they will receive ‘a small token of appreciation’.
The letter, from the prison’s acting governor, Mark Allen, states: ‘I wish to thank you personally for supporting myself and Long Lartin… I appreciate that the decision you made to support Long Lartin would not have been an easy one.
‘Can you please pop into my office, week commencing 28th November as I have a small token of appreciation for you.’
It is understood that about 60 prison officers at Long Lar-
‘To bribe staff this way is morally repugnant’
tin are in line to each receive vouchers, worth £6,000 in total.
John Attard, National Officer of the Prison Governors Association, said: ‘Governors working in prisons very much are the squeezed middle.
‘They are under pressure from their staff to make prisons safer but they’re also under pressure from NOMS itself to do that with less resources and less control.
‘There is a mechanism to reward staff within the prison service rules and those would have been the mechanisms that each individual governor would have decided.’
The MoJ failed to answer questions put to them about the total number of prison officers due to receive vouchers.
A spokesman said: ‘The Prison Service has a long-standing reward and recognition policy for its hard-working staff.
‘All rewards are at a governor’s discretion.’