London - Prison officers in Britain returned to work Wednesday after winning a government promise of fresh pay talks, avoiding a potentially crippling crisis in the country's overstretched prison network. The Prison Officers' Association (POA) called off its 24-hour pay strike early Wednesday evening, ensuring that prisons would be guarded during the crucial overnight period.
The unprecedented strike action, affecting 140 prisons in England and Wales, had begun early Wednesday and was due to last until 7 am on Thursday.
But Wednesday evening, the POA union urged warders to return to work after new pay talks were agreed with the government.
Earlier, the government had won a High Court injunction calling on the POA to order its members back to work.
Prisons in Scotland, which are under separate control, were not affected by the strike action.
The strike, which was described as illegal by the government, followed the POA's withdrawal from a no-strike agreement.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw described the walkout as "wholly unjustified and unlawful."
The POA said members were frustrated over recommended two-stage pay rises of 2.5 per cent and the reduction of prison service resources to a "dangerous minimum."
"The job is getting harder and harder," said a spokesman.
The POA, which has 28,000 members, said up to 90 per cent of its members who had been due on duty had joined the strike.
In the western city of Bristol, where available prison staff was cut from 120 to eight by the protest action, warders had returned to work during the afternoon Wednesday.
But in Liverpool, in the north-west, inmates staged a rooftop protest Wednesday, signalling the potential dangers that could have resulted from the strike action.
Most prisoners Wednesday remained locked up in their cells, few were taken to courts and visits were halted.
The government's prisons minister, David Hanson, said the strike had been "difficult for all concerned," and promised that the government would be "open to discussions" with union leaders.
The strike came after years of debate over Britain's overcrowded prisons. At present, the 140 state-run prisons in England and Wales are filled to capacity with over 80,600 inmates.
