Five members of staff at Maghaberry were attacked

The protest is part of a long-running dispute over security arrangements for Northern Ireland staff at their homes.

It is illegal for prison officers to strike, but the union has insisted it will go ahead with the move anyway, without carrying out a ballot.

The union said the last chance of averting a strike was a meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy on 14 January.

Finlay Spratt of the Prison Officers Association said if grievances were not resolved at that stage then the national executive could consider industrial action across the UK.

Mr Spratt was speaking on Monday after attending a meeting of the executive in Leeds.

Homes attacked

Brian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, said it recognised the "very serious problems" being faced by its members in Northern Ireland.

We are making it clear that we are no longer prepared to see our members intimidated both at work and their families threatened and attempted to be murdered in society Brian Caton Prison Officers' Association

"We want the secretary of state of Northern Ireland to listen when we meet with him on the 14th to our views as a union on how best we can see our members and their families protected.

"Things seem to be going from bad to worse, rather than getting better," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme on Tuesday.

"We are making it clear that we are no longer prepared to see our members intimidated both at work and their families threatened and attempted to be murdered in society.

"The government can do something about it."

Industrial action was threatened in October following attacks on five members of staff at the high security Maghaberry prison outside Lisburn, County Antrim.

A number of homes of serving and former prison officers have also been attacked.

These attacks were linked to a prisoners' dispute at the jail.

In September, a review of safety at Maghaberry recommended separating republican and loyalist prisoners.

The move was introduced in the wake of violent clashes between rival groups in the jail and in the face of a "dirty protest" by a group of dissident republican prisoners.

As well as paramilitary prisoners, Maghaberry houses male and female prisoners, whether they are convicted or on remand, and a number of asylum seekers.