Thousands of youth prison workers walked out last week in a row with the government over pay. The Ministry of Justice cut short the Prison Officers' Association strike after obtaining a High Court injunction.
The board said it was "dis- turbed" by the walkout and said the association had put "at potential risk some of society's most vulnerable and troubled young people".
One prison officer involved in the strike told Children & Young People Now that during the strike senior managers looked after the young people, who were kept in their rooms.
The officer, who did not want to be named, said the strike concerned more than an argument over pay: "This government has lied to us for a long time. It keeps trying to run prisons on the cheap. It locks young people up, but is not prepared to look after them."
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