PR 286: HUGE VICTORY FOR UNION MEMBERS AT GATWICK

Detention Custody Officers at the Gatwick Immigration Removal Centres are celebrating a major victory following the outcome of an employment tribunal case.

The Prison Officers Union representing workers at the centres took their employer SERCO to tribunal following the imposition of a pay award which bypassed the existing collective bargaining arrangements. The union’s lawyers Thompsons Solicitors represented the claimants, and the tribunal came down on the side of the members resulting in a compensation award of £5128 for every claimant. 

Speaking after the ruling POA General Secretary Steve Gillan said:

 “The POA are a fighting union. We refused to accept the imposition of a pay award in breach of the collective bargaining arrangements and challenged it through an employment tribunal, and we won. 

I want to thank our members at Gatwick for their determined refusal to accept SERCOs bullying tactics and our solicitors from Thompsons who argued our case skilfully and successfully.

The POA will continue to challenge employers who think they can ride roughshod over the rights of our members.”

 

 

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For further information, contact:

POA Press Office                                                  020 8803 0255 Option 7

Representing over 30,000 Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers, the POA is the largest UK Union in this sector, able to trace its roots back more than 100 years.