Latest From Napo 40
I notice from an email to all members today that the latest edition of Napo News is now available online, but to be perfectly blunt, to say I'm dismayed would be an understatement. Given that I, and I believe some other readers, feel that the leadership at the top is completely dysfunctional, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this from interim Chair Chris Pearson:-
With all this going on I haven’t had a great deal of time to review the workings of our union. My initial thoughts are that there are a lot of good people, officers and officials, doing a lot of good work on all our behalfs. That said, my initial observations are that some of that work needs to be a little more coordinated, a smidgen more directed and a pinch more efficient. I will pass on my thoughts and suggestions before handing over to Yvonne Pattison and Chris Winters at the AGM.
But then there's this from Tania Bassett:-
She also told delegates: ‘Napo members also work with those in the community that are being hardest hit by this coalition’s Dickensian approach to welfare. ‘The befriending funds that Probation has historically used to help clients in an emergency are now being used to help them pay for basics such as electricity. Probation offices up and down the country have a food box in the reception where staff can donate each week to help supplement the local food banks on which many of our clients rely’.
Whilst it's undoubtedly true that many probation offices have boxes for donations of food by staff, weren't 'Befriending Funds' dispensed with years ago, along with pool tables, cups of tea and 'advise, assist and befriend'?
Theres more comfort to be found in a 'cup-a-soup' then in that e-mail.
ReplyDeleteWe still have Befriending funds in our area. Can give up to £10 without permission from a Manager. It's technically a loan but we don't chase them for it!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting - how many areas out there still have them?
DeleteDon't even give bus fares on Merseyside anymore.
DeleteNo befriending funds in Lancs but we can give bus tokens within strict criteria (eg distance from office/receipt of bus ticket etc)
Deletehttp://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/probation-union-says-system-in-chaos/5043438.article
ReplyDeleteProbation workers have said the service is ‘in chaos’ following the government’s decision to privatise parts of the system.
DeleteSpeaking at a Labour party conference fringe event, NAPO spokeswoman Tania Bassett said the performance of the probation service since moving into private sector hands was worse than the union first feared.
Bassett said staff morale is lower than ever, with large numbers of probation workers leaving the service altogether.
The government has introduced contracts on a payment-by-results basis for around 70% of the probation service.
Bassett said probation workers assigned to different companies cannot talk to each other or even share stationery.
Some are working on 70 high-risk offenders at any one time, while 2,000 cases are still unallocated with no supervision or monitoring. Bassett also noted that IT breakdowns had meant that workers could not access important court or prison records.
‘The government is in complete denial – these are not teething problems, they are having a direct impact on people’s lives,’ she said.
‘This summer two members took their own lives – one chose to write her own eulogy in which she talked about the changes.
‘It is putting the public at harm and causing delays in courts and prisons, putting immense pressure on our members who are leaving in droves.’
Bassett called for an independent inquiry to judge the success of the privatisation programme and its impact on the justice system.
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan, also appearing at the event, said the changes had been ‘rubbish’, although he warned it would be expensive to tear up contracts if the government commits to 10-year deals with expensive break clauses inserted.
Khan also proposed the law should be changed so that private companies running public services should be subject to freedom of information requests.
Hmm I agree Jim; the references to Head Office needing to be "a little more co-ordinated, a smidgen more directed and a pinch more efficient" are depressingly inane especially from someone who has been a NEC rep for years and keen to get a post at HQ for some time too.I'd have thought he might have agreed that a key issue to home in on is accountability and openness. Reports on Officials work back to NEC are typically very general and bland summaries typically written by Chair: it would be a good start if each National Official had to give a brief account of what they have actually been doing and respond to questions at each NEC. Similar reports could be put in Napo News.As it stands, yr average member will know Napo employs several people with scant idea of what they actually do: it can't all be top secret. This may or may not lead to debate as to how many staff we actually need; at the moment I'd bet NEC members could not actually assure their Branch members what either the Officials do (and NEC represent us as employers of the Officials) or how each Officer spends their time.If you dont believe me,ask your NEC rep..Another bigger and more complex issue is around communications. With greater resources such as FB, Twitter etc people want to be able to access info and contribute to debate in more ways than just Branch meetings. We need to find ways of relaxing obsessions with hierarchical dispersal of info (from HQ to us plebs filtered via NEC or Branch Chairs)and encourage more exchange of info/concerns especially at this time of anxiety whilst recognising we still need to feed concerns back formally as well after Branch debate to NEC/AGM to ensure concerns represent a body of opinion. Communication channels are still too rigid in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWell, with the incoming joint Chairs having campaigned on the basis that 'continuity' was a big positive, exactly what does it take for the membership to appreciate we're up shit creek without a paddle?
DeleteThere is no way the NEC is in control and can hold the paid General Secretary to account. But the membership had a choice - 'divisive' and maverick Dino Peros, or 'more of the same' Yvonne and Chris. Only the former had any chance of dealing with the General Secretary - the latter have absolutely no chance.
I think members might already feel stranded and bereft and not appreciate they could influence how Napo operates. It may well feel increasingly irrelevant in the face of surviving pressures at work. For those who still want to battle on,given the existing structure,members need to exert their muscle either via AGM(though the range of motions not inspiring this year)or via their NEC rep. If a local Branch submits a motion to NEC (I've forgotten the 3 categories but at least one leads to debate at NEC)and argues it well, more support from othrr areas could be garnered than might be imagined.Some pre-NEC liaison between areas helps build support too.Nothing venture nothing gain but need well chosen motion and good proposer/seconder. If we really are in conversations with Prospect etc this might be too late of course. I'm no constitution buff but I think more than 1 branch could debate the same motion to submit to NEC then youd get a stronger indication of support from the off. Depending on news from this weeks NEC posters here could join forces to compose a motion that they all took to their branches to get agreed to take to Nov NEC? Obviously this pre-supposes there would be a consensus as to motion!
DeleteJobs going at Tesco's!
ReplyDeleteJust suprised they're not on the TR bidding list!!!
DeleteEvery little helps ;)
DeleteOff topic, but well worth taking note of, especially those working in CRCs.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good reminder that pay and conditions is unlikely to be universal for CRC employees, as private companies will operate differently.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2014/sep/22/outsourcing-same-job-same-hours-less-pay
im towards the lower end of the PSO scale - if I go any lower i'll be entitled to tax credits. Bloody hilarious.
DeleteOutsourcing is often held up by those who propound it as a miracle driver of public service efficiency and innovation. But according to a new study, the primary motives of contracting out are far less noble.
DeleteThe most salient consequence of outsourcing, indeed, is not to drive up quality but to drive down wages. Low paid workers bear the brunt, in one case losing up to 40% of take home pay after being transferred to new employers.
Analysis by the Smith Institute think tank of five recent instances where NHS, local government and police services were contracted out shows that in each case that the key objective of offloading services into the private sector was to make cost savings in direct response to steep public spending cuts.
In one case, involving the provision of a former NHS-run disability care service, drastic cuts to local government budgets meant that the only way to provide any service at all at the new lower contract values was for the provider to radically drive down employee terms and conditions.
In all the case studies, while some transferred employees retained public service terms and conditions, there was evidence that employers were paying new starters on lower rates of pay for the same job, meaning the arrangements were not only unfair and potentially discriminatory. Successive retendering of contracts had produced a "staggering array of different terms and conditions among people delivering the same public service," the study found. In one case, outsourced employees were paid 15% less than the lowest-paid council staff.
Although workloads had increased as a result of contracting out - more work done for less - resulting in cost savings, staff did not share in any financial rewards. Pay rates were stuck at the minimum wage, seemingly regardless of the efficiencies achieved. In one case, an employer offered a less drastic pay cut if staff agreed to leave the public sector pension scheme. Sadly, some impoverished employees felt obliged to take them up on the offer.
Not sure of the link between Thames Valley & Cumbria, but here's a right royal "fuck you" to PO staff auto- allocated to CRC in Cumbria:
Delete"REPORT WRITERS REQUIRED
Are you a Qualified Probation Officer or Social Worker with Probation Experience?
(Please only apply if you meet this criteria)
Are you available for full time, part-time or sessional work for a minimum of 2 days per week?
If so, we have requirements for 6 report writers in Cumbria to provide a Report Writing Service. You will need to be competent in completing OASys Assessments, Interviewing Offenders and ensuring reports are completed to a high standard.
The requirement is on-going until further notice. The client is able to accommodate your own requirements so please do get in touch with us today.
Please note that this is a temporary position so you are not permitted to be employed by Thames Valley CRC /NPS currently you would need to apply internally.
An enhanced DBS would be required. We can process a DBS for you within 2 weeks if you do not hold a current one already.
A current DBS is required for this role, along with a relevant qualification - DipPS, DipSW, CQSW or equivalent."
£24 per hour; help yourself, folks.
DeleteIf you want to know the caliber of Mr Pearson just google his name, leader of Essex county council and the fire brigade union. That'll show how much a union man he really is.
ReplyDeleteCLM Innovo are visiting all Merseyside CRC offices to give a presentation on their bid and to do a question & answer session. We are all a bit surprised as to why they would feel the need to do this. It's as though they have maybe had a 'nod and a wink'.
ReplyDeleteEnvelopes full of cash normally have that effect!!!!!
DeleteOur area are trying to give some positive spin to Sodexo. Seems maybe they already know who will be winning the bids?
ReplyDeleteWell, seeing as probation chums in the innovo circus are being allowed to present their case to staff, maybe its only 'right' that sodexo get a good press too? "TR is utter shite" doesn't seem to be the third option on offer.
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