Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Grahame Morris (Labour), on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 30 members in total.

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Ban on prison officer industrial action

That this House notes it has been 30 years since prison officers in the UK were banned from taking industrial action under Section 127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; further notes that prison officers in Scotland have had the right to strike enshrined in law since 2015, yet there have been no strikes since then, only improved industrial relations; believes this draconian restriction, especially in the absence of an effective and impartial means of binding resolution of disputes in the course of collective bargaining, renders the UK in breach of its obligations under international laws that it has ratified and by which it is bound, including the European Social Charter and ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise; further believes this lack of industrial muscle leaves prison officers unfairly and dangerously at the mercy of prison service management and without leverage to challenge Government policy with respect to pay, terms and conditions; expresses solidarity with the POA union, which has campaigned tirelessly over three decades for the return of these basic industrial rights; welcomes the Government’s commitment to repealing anti-trade-union legislation introduced by previous administrations; and calls on the Government to include Section 127 in the legislation to be repealed.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

228 

Session

2024-26

Other sponsors

Rachael Maskell

John McDonnell

Richard Burgon

Liz Saville Roberts

Mary Kelly Foy

Subjects

Industrial relations HM Prison Service Right to strike

Legislation

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk