Prison Officers accept 4% salary increase offer

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Prison Officers accept 4% salary increase offer

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) have accepted the four per cent salary-increase offer from the Government.

President of the POA Gerard Gordon, in a Newsday interview, said the decision was made in the best interest of the membership.

He added that last Thursday the Industrial Court sought to bind the union to a ten-year negotiating period, and if the four per cent offer was accepted, it meant members would have been mandated to accept four per cent for the decade, rather than a six-year period.

Gordon added: “We had an emergency meeting last Thursday, and based on the feedback we withdrew the matter on Friday and accepted four per cent for the period 2014-2019. It was the best decision, based on the information we had, because at the end of the day, half a loaf is better than none.”

The offer means prison officers will be given no increases for the years 2014-2016, two per cent for 2016, nothing for 2017-2018 and another two per cent for 2019. Negotiations for the remaining four-year period, 2020-2023, are continuing.

The POA’s acceptance of this 4% offer means that the Fire Officers Association remains the lone member of the protective service not to agree to it.