PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka comment on HMP Birmingham and G4S

Commenting on the news about Birmingham prison fiasco Mark Serwotka, Public and Commercial Service Union General Secretary said:

“The colossal negligence at HMP Birmingham shows the disastrous impact that G4S and other private companies have on public services.

The Government suggest that the Ministry of Justice need to step in, give a helping hand and then return the contract to G4S. That’s simply ludicrous. Yet more of our public money will be spent on clearing up private sector mess, whilst G4S are still being paid from the public purse for a contract they failed to deliver on.

Our union demands urgent independent review into how and why the private sector failed these prisoners, the workers in HMP Birmingham and the public so badly. The solution to the crisis at HMP Birmingham is to return the prison, and others like it, back into public hands. Recruitment of experienced staff back into the prison service on decent contracts, as well as support for staff currently working at Winson Green would go some way to fixing the problems.

If ordinary working people didn’t do the job they were hired to do, they’d be sacked. It’s time for G4S to be stripped of their public contracts."