The three main unions in the prisons sector, FSC-CCOO, FeSP-UGT and ACAIP-USO, are continuing their protests over pay, jobs and working conditions with three demonstrations planned for 14, 24 and 29 September. The unions have called on the government to honour the commitments it made when in opposition and increase resources for the prisons service. The unions emphasise that responsibilities and workloads have increased but staffing hasn't and the sector has 3400 vacant posts. Prison workers are facing considerable pressures to ensure safety in their institutions and face an increasing number of physical assaults. The unions also want the government to address the problem of pay discrepancies across the system where workers in different prisons have different rates of pay despite doing the same job.
Prison unions protest over pay and jobs
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Prison unions continue their campaign over pay and jobs
The unions organising in the prisons sector - FSC-CCOO, ACAIP, FeSP-UGT and CSIF - continue to press the government to honour its original commitment to increase funding to the service. The unions organised a demonstration outside the General Directorate of Public Services on 18 February. They are particularly angry that the government withdrew its offer of EUR 123 million to cover pay rises for the 23000 workers in the sector over the period 2019-2021.
Prison staff protest over staffing and safety
(December 2016) Prison staff, members of the FP-CGIL and UIL-PA federations, took part in a national demonstration on 29 November in protest at serious understaffing and assaults on staff. The unions argue that urgent action is needed to deal with dilapidated prisons and the long working hours and stress that are leading to sickness absence and additional pressures of work. They say that problems have been building up for years with cutbacks and lack of investment.
Prison union protests over pay and staffing
On 13 August the SNLP prison workers' union organised a protest in front of the national prison service over the failure of the government to pay eight months of wage arrears and respond to other demands including: improving staffing levels by hiring 1,000 more people; compensation for overtime with time off from work or extra salary pay; and imposing sanctions on officials who do not abide by the law on staffing. The government doesn't respect the collective agreement or the process of social dialogue. Out of a list of 75 issues raised by the unions only five have been partially dealt with