More than 70 prisons to be hit with strike action in contracts row

The row centres on plans to introduce new contracts for prison educators with increased working hours and reductions in holiday and sickness entitlement. If the plans are forced through some staff will be forced to move to new pay scales that could see them lose as much as £7,000 a year.
 
At 12 noon there will be a rally at the Manchester Conference Centre Institute on Sackville Street where there will be speeches by prison teachers and UCU president Alan Whitaker.
 
UCU says prison education is the key factor in cutting reoffending. Over half of all crime committed in the country is by people who have been through the prison system and studies show that prisoners who do not take part in education are three times more likely to be reconvicted than those that do^.
 
The union welcomed the news that the coalition government is to hold a review of prison education as part of reforms of the penal system. UCU says prison teaching staff must be treated fairly and be properly paid if the government is serious about tackling the problem of reoffending.
 
UCU president, Alan Whittaker, who will be speaking at the rally at Manchester, said: 'Our members don't want to take strike action, but they have been left with no choice. It is deeply concerning that Britain's largest prison education provider is trying to force through new contracts that will seriously jeopardise prison education in this country.
 
'The new contracts would mean fewer rehabilitation opportunities for offenders. UCU believes education must be at the heart of any reform of our prison system and the evidence backs us up.'

Notes

* full list of the institutions affected
 
^ A Social Exclusion Unit report from 2002 showed that 'prisoners who do not take part in education are three times more likely to be reconvicted than those that do'

In a ballot for industrial action, 78% of UCU members, who voted, voted for strike action and 89% voted for action short of a strike.