Prisoners across the State were locked in their cells today during a one-hour work stoppage by prisoner officers in protest at the introduction of a new search regime.
POA General Secretary John Clinton
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) believes its members should be allowed to clock in for work before they are searched going in to prisons.
The association believes the prison service's plans to search officers before clocking in means they will be performing a work-related task on their own time. It believes the time taken to search officers should be counted as part of their working day.
POA General Secretary John Clinton said this morning the dispute was "created by management" when they took a unilateral decision to place clocks inside the security check-in areas and not at the entrance to the prisons, which he said had been previously agreed.
"It is entirely unacceptable to the POA and our members that staff will have to pass through a security check in area in their personal time especially when there is a mediated agreement to the contrary in place," he added.
He pointed out that prison officers "fully support" the new security regime but that "it was never intended that this issue would be addressed in the private time available to prison officers".
The work stoppage began at 2pm. A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said that prisoners were locked in their cells for longer than they would usually have been over the period, and that they were delayed in getting to afternoon activities.
The new search regime is one of the main components of a drive in prisons to prevent illicit items such as telephones, drugs and weapons, being smuggled to prisoners.
The searches will also apply to members of the public visiting inmates. It is envisaged the system would be as comprehensive as security checks at airports. Searches will involve metal detector checks.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the moves to improve prison security were welcome, but that there must be agreement on all sides.
"Fine Gael has been calling for 'airport-type security' in all prisons,above and beyond what is currently being out in place, and will be pressing for this to be implemented.
"However, any changes to prison security must take place through consultation between both sides and only introduced when agreement has been reached, not unilaterally, but by discussion," he said.
The prison service contends that because prison officers are not ready for work until after they have been searched, they are not in a position to clock in until the searches are complete.
Brian Purcell, the head of the Irish Prison Service, has said the officers already benefit from a 10-minute grace period meaning if, for example, they clock in at 8.10am they are paid from 8am.
He said the decision to go ahead with the work stoppage "is in clear breach" of Towards 2016, the national wage agreement.
It is not yet clear if further industrial action will be taken, but the spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said there would be further meetings next week to try to resolve the situation.