The POA today stated the announcement that HMP Birmingham
will be returned to the public sector is a major success for the
Union.
HMP Birmingham was privatised in 2011 with a 15 year
contract being awarded to G4S. Today, the Government announced
that it would remain in public sector ownership permanently,
after the contract with G4S was ended and the prison handed back
to the public sector.
National Chair of the POA, Mark Fairhurst commented:
The announcement today that HMP Birmingham is to be returned
where it rightfully belongs, within the public sector prison
service, heralds a success for the POA and its membership. We have
campaigned tirelessly since it was wrongly privatised in 2011 to
have it returned to the state. The more recent events enabled us to
pressurise the Government into making what is undoubtedly the
correct decision for staff, prisoners and the tax payer. The
obsession this Tory Government has to outsource and privatise
public sector work must cease. It is obvious that when you put
profits above safety you sow the seeds of disorder, mismanagement,
cover ups and misery. We now urge the Government to listen to
the POA and abandon its mixed market dogma by ensuring all new
builds remain in the public sector which ensures safety, order,
control, rehabilitation and accountability. We look forward to
welcoming our members at HMP Birmingham back into the public
sector.
