Thursday 1 December 2016

CRC Dispute - Latest 14

Branch Correspondence SSW BRANCH

24 11 16
Dear members,

Many of you will have seen the letter from the Chief Officer last week on the situation regarding the DDC Redundancy Policy. Please be assured nothing that has been said by the management is accepted by the unions on this matter, and any decision on the merits and rights of the policy would be discussed via the current dispute and/or by the NNC Joint Secretaries, or failing this by a legal test case when, or if breaches of the dismissal process occur. Keep in mind however that the current dispute remains in force, though at present in our view we have very little signs of movement from the Management who appear locked in a process in the wrong direction. A further Branch Report, 17 has been prepared which would have dealt with the key points of this aspect of the dispute but has been put on hold at the request of the GS as the joint unions are agreed that updates on this matter will come through Ian Lawrence NAPO GS for circulation. These will be out to you either later today and look for news in his blog. This is because we were in attendance at ACAS on Wednesday with the employers Aurelius trading as representatives of Working Links and many members will have my views on that issue already.

Members, please continue to send us your experiences of risk, SFO matters, and the recent rounds of putting targets above public protection issues. Breach issues especially, featured heavily in the fantastic response we received to our last request for information. Thank you for this it has been invaluable in our drive to ensure all health and safety process are to be followed. 


There is a sense amongst the unions that Working links have still to convince anyone that they have any working model formally in print that should be thoroughly tested under health and safety legislation (which is there to protect your rights). Oddly it appears that it only exists in the form of a series of presentations of differing component parts from some staff. More on this from Ian Lawrence in his communication to come. Several serious themes came up many times from your feedback to our survey and we were overwhelmed at the expressions of despair that many members have shared, and how you are feeling about the treatment that you are receiving. What became apparent yesterday is that the issues that concern DDC are also relevant to BGSW and Wales - we are all in this so don't be fooled by any attempts of divide and rule by Management. We would urge you to put any concerns regarding workload, risk issues etc to your Line Managers in writing if you are able to in order for the matter to be recorded. Our policies are there to protect you however we are aware that this is hard to believe at this point, given the current
situation.

By the same token we in Napo are hearing some awful stories that have yet to be verified, on your terms and conditions being abused - Pay docking in sickness absence matters, and threats to the idea that these terms are being changed. We have no official notice of an intention to attack these terms yet. These entitlements in service are automatic and expressed terms and conditions of your employment . If members are aware of such a deviation from normal terms will you inform us and provide any evidence for any changes that impact on you immediately?

We will keep you posted as things develop.

Dino Peros SSW Branch Chair 
JNCC Napo Rep
Denice James JNCC Rep

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(It would be good if someone could kindly supply a copy, text or screen photo of the letter referred to from the Chief Officer - thanks Ed.)

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Finally, here's a golden opportunity to 'tell it how it is' courtesy of the Guardian:-

Tell us about the state of UK probation services

Last year 8,600 probation staff were outsourced as part of the privatisation of more than half of the probation service in England and Wales.

In 2014, seven-year-long contracts for rehabilitation services worth £3.7bn were awarded to companies such as Staffline, Sodexo and MTCnovo to supervise low and medium-risk offenders. Those who are deemed high-risk are still supervised by the National Probation Service.

If you work in probation services we’d like to hear from you. What do you think of their current state, and how have you been affected?

You can share your experiences with us by filling in the form below - anonymously if you wish. All information will be kept confidential and we will feature some of the submissions in our coverage.

15 comments:

  1. I'm glad you included the Guardian article. Good opportunity to share the Probation TR omnishambles with a wider audience.

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  2. Have submitted my comments to the guardian and look forward to seeing the finished article.

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  3. I have written my bit for the Guardian, not sure where that is going, but it was cathartic anyway, with (like here) anonymity. What noms de plume have we all had? yours aye Des Pair

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  4. Heard from a newly released woman prisoner eastwood park prison..'the governor, diamond white, was on the news saying 'abused women need longer in prison to sort them out'..we were furious, how dare she! She got loads of threats and she hasn't been seen for ages..someone else doing her job'.
    Looks like her ill thought out comments heard on local TV and National news have backfired big time..and no wonder!

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  5. I can only assume that the reason the lack of comments on this blog today is that everyone is busy filling in the guardian form ?

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  6. I think you are probably right!

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  7. Congratulations to our colleagues in the POA who have had their legitimate grievances recognised and the recruitment issues potentially addressed by a reasonable pay rise and an increase in pensions following their recent dispute.
    Are you watching NAPO?

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    Replies
    1. Be great if Napo members would do the same wouldn't don't think it would happen everyone frightened!

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    2. You mean Napo leadership!! If the leadership was effective then the members wouldn't be frightened or apathetic.

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    3. Takes some nerve or desperation to stand up and be counted like POA did, clearly their health and safety was very much at risk. Read the following article just now about Bedford Prison and it has some parallels with what many have been trying to communicate about the now systemic and seemingly intractable problems with Probation. Maybe NPS / CRC / Probation Services should have an Independent Monitoring Board with unfettered access? Probation is mentioned toward the end of the article and ideas made are thought provoking.

      https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/30/warned-prisoners-could-riot-minister-didnt-listen

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    4. "Second, there would be a properly resourced community sentence and probation service centre (CSPSC) in every major town to provide offenders with support, advice, help with housing and employment, remedial education and vocational training, alongside traditional probation service functions."


      Wtf is that??? Probation delivers community sentences it is not additional to community sentences!! Why does every jackass and his dog [that doesn't work in probation and has no understanding of probation] always want to try to define what probation should be. When will these fuckwits understand that probation already has a role and function, even if it has been distorted by another set of fuckwits!!

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    5. 22:31 I was talking about the members having the guts to stand up and be counted and take action.

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  8. What do we do if we are told to sign new contracts which in effect changes our terms and conditions.

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    Replies
    1. Sign. Or refuse to sign. Erm, that's all. Oh, if you're in a union, tell them. They might do something if you're lucky, depends which union is involved. If you're not in a union, get legal advice; or wait for someone who is in a union to take up the fight. Or join a union. Or leave.

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  9. Ms Dymond-White of Eastwood Park reported in Daily Express 2nd Nov 2016

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/728122/women-prisoners-governors-longer-sentences-rehabilitation

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