On 15 November 2016, the Ministry of Justice (represented by Daniel Stilitz KC and Marcus Pilgerstorfer) successfully applied for an injunction restraining the POA from inducing prison officer members from taking industrial action and committing breaches of discipline. Inducing prison officers to take such action is prohibited by s127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
The POA had issued Circulars calling on members to take action following the publication of statistics about assaults in prisons. The call for action included inducing members to stay outside their places of work for 24 hours from midnight on 15 November. Whilst that action was ongoing, Mr Justice Kerr granted an injunction to restrain the inducement. He had no doubt whatever that the merits of the Ministry of Justice’s claim that the action amounted to a breach of s127 were strong, and that the POA’s defence was weak.
