diff --git a/compress.c b/compress.c
index 734fbbf..0e71c28 100644
--- a/compress.c
+++ b/compress.c
@@ -623,7 +623,7 @@
 		return 0;
 	}
 	if (fds.revents & POLLERR) {
-		return oops(compress, -EIO, "poll returned error!");
+		return oops(compress, EIO, "poll returned error!");
 	}
 	return ret;
 }