UK prison guards return to work after strike

LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) Thousands of British prison officers bowed to a court order and returned to work today after challenging Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government with a surprise strike.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA), which had previously kept to a no-strike agreement, said its members had walked out from more than 140 jails in England and Wales in a pay dispute, their first national stoppage.

Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers Association, recommended members to return to work after the government won a court order against the stoppage.

''In the light of the offer of meaningful discussions on Friday regarding the staging of pay, the executive will lead our members back to work irrespective of the threat of an injunction,'' he told Channel 4 television news.

The Justice Ministry, which labelled the strike illegal and unjustifiable, said it expected prison officers to return to work immediately.

The walkout was a direct challenge to Brown, who has pledged to keep a tight clamp on public sector pay rises to restrain inflation, and may point to more labour troubles ahead for his government.

The POA said it acted because the government had decided to implement a 2.5 per cent pay increase in stages, which it argued amounted to just a 1.9 per cent rise for its members.

After the walkout, prisoners were confined to their cells and the government said it had contingency measures in place to ensure security was maintained and prisoners were fed.

Britain's prisoner numbers have reached record levels of around 80,000 in recent years, leading to some criminals being released early to ease overcrowding.

Brown, who took over from Tony Blair as prime minister in June, decided in his previous job as finance minister that public sector workers would receive an average 1.9 per cent pay rise this year, well below the inflation rate.

The pay restraint angered trades unions, traditional backers of Brown's Labour Party, and led to expectations that Brown's government could be in for a difficult winter.

Union sources say the chance of widespread strikes has receded recently after the government moved to sweeten wage deals for low-paid public sector workers.

Expectations that Brown could call an early election this year or next have increased because of opinion polls showing he has a commanding lead over the opposition Conservatives.

Widespread disruption from strikes could be electorally disastrous for him.

Reuters RKM VP0058