Staff dispute on jail travel pay

The prison is due to become operational in May

Prison officers are locked in a dispute with the Isle of Man government over their relocation package for moving to the island's jail.

The £41.7m Jurby prison, which replaces Victoria Road jail in Douglas, is due to become operational next month.

But unions have warned that officers are yet to sign up to new arrangements for rotas and night duty allowances, as well as the relocation compensation.

The Department of Home Affairs said it had made a "fair and equitable" offer.

Officers have been offered 40p per extra mile they will travel over a period of three years, payable in a lump sum.

But the Prospect union and Prison Officers' Association (POA) said the offer could be rejected in a ballot due on 11 May - four days before the jail is due to open.

Settlement hope

Angela Moffat, of Prospect, said: "Our members do not wish to make money out of the relocation.

"Only people who now have extra distance to travel will be compensated for the additional expense they will incur, and only then for an interim period.

"The current offer also does not reflect the additional personal time they will use having to travel to work - in some cases an extra hour and a half a day."

The existing jail is in the on the east of the island in Douglas, while the new facility is located across the other side in the north west.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesman said: "The department has worked hard to balance the needs of staff working at the new prison alongside the prudent use of taxpayers' money.

"Considerable consultation has taken place on these issues over the past two years in an attempt to arrive at a formalised agreement that is in the best interests of all parties."

The spokesman added that officials hoped the issue could be resolved "quickly and amicably".