The strikes started over allegations of bullying by senior management of HMP Liverpool. Though today’s wildcats were taken in solidarity with the Liverpool action, they also seem to have been prompted by concerns over health and safety at Risley, where staff cuts are being threatened to make up for a £1 million budget deficit.

Staff at Preston prison as well as those at Wandsworth and Cardiff added to the pressure by threatening to join the strike unless managers agreed to talks with the concerned parties. Mark Freeman from POA confirmed that since their demands had been met all workers would be returning to work.

“The Prison Service, after 25 hours, gave us what we asked for on the very first hour of this walkout. If they had given it to us then none of the other prisons would have walked out,” he said.

While the strikes went on the prisoners were said to be locked in their cells and the jail staffed solely by managers. The prison service claims that the facilities were safe and secure during the strikes, a claim the POA denies.

 http://themule.info/article/wildcat-strike-at-risley-prison