Prison strike called off

THE strike which led to more than 150 prison officers walking out at Risley Prison, near Warrington, has been called off.
Prison officers at Risley went back to work last night (Wednesday) after prison managers at Liverpool’s Walton Jail agreed to talks to address grievances there which had led to the dispute.
More than 1,100 prisoners at Risley were guarded by managers during the stoppage which meant all prison visits were cancelled.
The dispute started in Liverpool on Tuesday and spread to a number of other prisons in Preston, Lancaster and Dorset.
There were allegations of staff being bullied by managers.
But management condemned the stoppages as unecessary and unsafe, claiming there were established procedures for settling disputes without stoppages.
A meeting to try and resolve the dispute will now take place on Monday, involving prison management and representatives of the Prison Officers’ Association.