IT SAYS much for the skills of an industrial tribunal chaired by Dr David Simpson into the dispute between prison management and staff that both parties walked away after his judgement feeling able to claim victory.

The reality, however, is somewhat different. Rather than victors, the loser until now has been the taxpayer and – although they will receive less sympathy – the prisoners themselves.

Previous prison management has failed to do what it was paid to do: run the facility in an efficient and effective manner. It paid staff handsomely to sign up to a Fresh Start productivity deal but bottled out of ensuring that employees kept their side of the ‘bargain’.

As a result, the prison has been overmanned, it was, in the words of the States’ own negotiator, rife with Spanish practices, including rosters designed to keep staff happy and boost their time off. The dispute flared when current management rightly decided to take control, deliver value for the taxpayer and improve prisoners’ treatment with a view to reducing rates of reoffending.

Persuading staff to change their ways was always going to be difficult and come at a cost – but there was also an obligation on them and their union, Unite, to be reasonable.

What the tribunal’s decision does is to reinforce management’s right to manage and change hours and rosters the better to deliver its public service obligations, but in partnership with its employees.

It also builds in a third-party referee with a casting vote so the employer-employee working party resolving rosters cannot become deadlocked and establishes that there has to be an appropriate work/life balance in any new hours.

In other words, there is no point in either side attempting to be unreasonable because they will be overruled by an independent pair of eyes.

That, the other tribunal which highlighted the unacceptable treatment of the airport firefighters, and the civil service pay settlement embracing performance, productivity and partnership is sending out some powerful messages.

Changed economic circumstances demand new attitudes, particularly in industrial relations and in regard to embracing change.

And there are benefits for both sides.