Strikes announced for Thursday 10 & Wednesday 23 June at 49 prisons over Covid concerns set to continue
![Prison door with key](https://www.fenews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Prison_stock_750x570.jpeg)
Wave of strikes by @ucu members at 49 prisons over Covid concerns set to continue.
Strikes announced for Thursday 10 June 2021 & Wednesday 23 June 2021. The strikes are a result of UCU members safety concerns after two previous days of strikes in May.
Staff in 49 prisons across England are set to go on strike again in a health and safety dispute with employer Novus, the University and College Union (UCU) confirmed today (Wednesday 2nd June 2021).
Around 600 UCU members working in prison education are set to walk out of 49 prison and young offender institutions* across England on Thursday 10 and Wednesday 23 June. The latest set of walkouts have been called because Novus has refused to meaningfully engaged with UCU’s concerns despite staff already taking two days of strike action in May.
The dispute centres on Novus’ failure to meaningfully engage with UCU over Covid health and safety concerns of prison educators teaching and supporting learners on the prison estate. Novus has launched complaints and investigations against UCU’s health and safety representatives, making it difficult for staff to raise safety concerns and impossible for any meaningful health and safety discussions to take place.
Novus is the biggest prison education employer in the UK and is owned by parent company LTE Group. Yesterday Liz Saville Roberts MP wrote to the board members of LTE Group as co-chair of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group, which comprises over 100 cross-party parliamentarians. She urged the board to prioritise staff health and safety and to withdraw any threats of action against UCU branch representatives. LTE Group meet on Tuesday 15 June.
UCU has met with Novus multiple times to try to resolve the dispute through ACAS, the government funded body set up to resolve industrial issues. But Novus has refused to drop investigations into UCU health and safety representatives.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘For Novus to end this continuing wave of strike action all it needs to do is stop its bullying behaviour, withdraw the unfair complaints and investigations against our health and safety representatives, and take staff safety concerns seriously. Instead, its bosses seem willing to risk two further days of strike action across 49 prisons and the censure of a prominent parliamentary group.
‘The board members of Novus’ parent company, LTE Group, are meeting on Tuesday 15 June. It is time for them to step in, end Novus’ bully-boy tactics and work with us to resolve the dispute. Until they do so UCU will continue to support prison educators to take industrial action and protect themselves.’
* Full list of prisons and young offender institutes where staff are on strike:
Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Altcourse
HMP Birmingham
HMP Brinsford
HMP Brixton
HMP Buckley Hall
HMP Deerbolt Bowes
HMP Doncaster
HMP Durham
HMP Featherstone
HMP Hatfield/Lakes
HMP Haverigg
HMP Hewell
HMP High Down
HMP Holme House
HMP Hull
HMP Humber
HMP Kirkham
HMP Kirklevington
HMP Lancaster Farms
HMP Leeds
HMP Lindholme
HMP Liverpool
HMP Northumberland
HMP Oakwood
HMP Onley
HMP Pentonville
HMP Preston
HMP Risley
HMP Rye Hill
HMP Stafford
HMP Swinfen Hall
HMP Thameside
HMP Wandsworth
HMP Wealstun
HMP Wormwood Scrubs
HMP Wymott
HMP/Young Offender Institution (YOI) Low Newton
HMP/YOI Moorland/Lakes
HMP/YOI Styal
Her Majesty’s Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Askham Grange
HMYOI Cookham Wood
HMYOI Feltham
HMYOI Hindley
HMYOI Isis
HMYOI New Hall
HMYOI Stoke Heath
HMYOI Thorn Cross
HMYOI Werrington
HMYOI Wetherby
Responses