Deal likely on prison officers' pay

The long-standing dispute over pay for prison officers is expected to be resolved today, following talks at the Labour Relations…

The long-standing dispute over pay for prison officers is expected to be resolved today, following talks at the Labour Relations Commission.

Both sides in the dispute were last night finalising agreement on a report from the Arbitration Board issued on Monday evening, and are expected to conclude later today.

A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said: "We received the report, and our people are currently studying it. While it might take a further day or so, we are expected to resolve this issue."

Talks at the Labour Relations Commission between the Prison Service and the Prison Officers' Association (POA) lasted several hours yesterday, in an attempt to finalise proposals aimed at ending the bitter dispute.

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Once an agreement is reached, the POA will then look to its members to ratify it. It is understood the proposals include a €43.6 million compensation package payable over three years. Under the agreement, prison officers would commit to work 340 hours of overtime per year on a fixed rota basis.