Probation officers are being balloted on industrial action which could disrupt the parole system for long-term prisoners.
The 220 probation officers, members of the IMPACT trade union, are threatening action over what they describe as long-standing frustration at the Government's failure to implement improvements in the probation and welfare service recommended in independent reports in 1998 and 1999.
Specifically, the 220 officers are said to be angry about the failure of the Department of Justice to appoint a director of probation services, a position recommended in the 1999 report.Their threat follows a decision by the Department to extend the contract of the retiring Principal Probation Officer, Mr Martin Tansey. It is understood his contract has been extended by six months, with the option of a further six months.
A spokesman for the IMPACT probation and welfare branch said progress in the implementation of the Parole Board service had been forced by threat of industrial action.
The probation officers will begin voting this week and industrial action could begin next month. The Parole Board hears an average of one application a week. The officers provide the risk-assessment reports on prisoners which are taken into consideration by the board when deciding whether to release.