PRISON OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS

That this House supports full trade union rights for the Prison Officers' Association (POA); notes that the International Labour Organisation criticised the previous administration for failing to put in place alternative mechanisms for pay bargaining and matters of dispute; further notes that the Criminal Justice Act 2003 criminalises POA members if they take industrial action; believes that the POA isdenied the right to free collective bargaining over pay on behalf of its members; further believes that the absence of effective alternative mechanisms to otherwise protect prison officers' interestsis incompatible with the right under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights to `freedom of assembly including the right to belong to a trade union for the protection of your interests'; further believes that the POA is the only trade union that does not have full trade union rights; and calls on the Government to take steps to restore full trade union rights to the Prison Officers' Association.