PRISON officers are threatening to strike from the end of this month unless they receive a pay rise in line with that granted to the nurses' unions.
It would be the first strike in the service since 1988, when Gardai and the Army took over the running of the prisons during a dispute about staff rosters. The Government has already made contingency plans for a strike, although privately both sides believe a pay settlement can be reached without industrial action.
The prison officers are seeking a 17 per cent pay rise, which would raise the typical officer's basic salary from £18,000 to about £21,000. The claim is currently before an independent adjudication board, which is due to report next week.
Yesterday delegates at the POA conference in Waterford agreed that a national ballot of members, which could also serve as a strike ballot, would be held on the outcome of the adjudication.
Officers attending the conference were warned that they could not expect continuing pay rises without yielding increased efficiency or changed work practices. Mr Tom Hoare, the POA deputy general secretary, told delegates: "The time is gone when public sector pay deals are done without a quid pro quo for management."
As a sign of the impending changes, delegates voted yesterday that officers in Limerick Prison should be prepared to give up a special allowance, worth £15 a week to staff at the jail, for dealing with "subversive" prisoners. The allowance has been paid since 1982, but the prison no longer holds "subversive" prisoners. Limerick delegates made a strong case for excluding the allowance from any overall pay deal, but their proposal was defeated.
The pay claim comes against a background of a growing prison staff overtime bill, which totalled £18 million last year and could reach £25 million in 1997.