Tuesday 24 January 2017

CRC Dispute Latest 20

Short Branch update 2017

Dear Members,

This is brief update to keep you informed as far as we can on the current issues. We are still holding on for the long awaited legal advisories that we have asked for as these will tie in directly to the next scheduled National Joint secretaries meeting around the middle of February.

Sadly we are there because of the total and constant failing of Working Links to really want to engage properly on the staffing workloads arrangements. Deliver any appropriate input to working on a fair and equitable workload weighting agreement, or to provide all staff and the unions with genuine risk assessments under occupational health and safety legislation. Despite their obscure and poorly researched avoidance response we have little positive to report on the current position.

In that process however, NAPO UNISON are also waiting on the formal and legal advice for the health and safety failures that Working Links continue to require from their agents and management. Napo will not be party to ignoring their legal obligations and will enforce those issues. We continue to challenge the already failing position they have advanced. Many of you will recall we have called for equality impact assessments on staffing who both remain and were previously claimed to be at risk because of the WL appalling calculations on reducing so many staff.

Here we are a long way down the road and many staff who are feeling like they are stuck in roles and not provided a genuine or fair equal exit route. Certainly nothing similar to likes of others who were previously favoured by rank or role. The hostile tactic of severance which many staff surprisingly appeared happy to take and with huge personal losses to themselves. This situation only contributes to the bulging and greed driven pocket of the Working Links money absorption policy. By that there were no staff awarded their entitlements to pensions. Working Links choosing to make flat and disadvantageous incentives to the already depressed and weary. OK enough of that we now have what we predicted a core of some harder line staff who were neither able to get out or indeed could afford to, with such a poor prospect facing them who are now going to be subsumed into the new staffing to continuity. Oh really!

With that they will not have any recognised workloads agreement, no health and safety assessments on buildings locations and travel. Workload weighting for new tasks! Nothing from IT and assistive user technology arrangements or union consultation. Locally or nationally. Napo members are already reporting a continued onslaught at the attempts to vary their jobs and as yet zero consultation or proper protections in place. All side stepped and avoided in any documents and proper responses from the Working Links Spin cycle.

You all get the picture NAPO e mail is busy and we continue to issue the same advice as we wait patiently for the Working links wheels to fall off. Today gives us another a prime example of the over energetic hurry to collapse the IT system and yet they now report they are still without the important permission's to do so. Is this more about losing IT on costs and making that extra lolly in profits than actually making sure things are well understood? Who knows at this moment only we continue to challenge the mess on your behalf.

There are too many examples coming through that illustrate the unfair practices of Working Links towards the diverse nature and needs of our staff across a range of protected characteristics. Also the change in locations and flat rejections to honour staff terms and protections. are all on costs to lowest paid employees. I want to know what chunk of public funding is finding its way into the board members of Working Links its time we made those inquiries. It is all set for more dispute as the issues take hold and more staff develop the confidence and start to reject the Working Links way and the constant "our people " rubbish. If that were the case treat our people our members properly and honour their terms comes echoing to my mind which has been expressed to me a whole lot of late, from many and very angry members.

Unpaid work at the forefront for the moment as these staff have the most depressing attacks on their roles and safe working practices. Vans groups sizes and pick up, all under the spotlight for a major issue and dispute. We are proud of our members holding the line there and we continue with the authorities shortly to bring some much needed direction and correcting to this situation. In the meantime we assert there has still been no risk assessments to health and safety to their proposed planned changes to unpaid work. There cannot be any reasonable why not? We speculate that if they had done so properly they could not operate such a drastic cut in operations. Well you will all realise what that means.

Currently we are yet to see how the shiny new laptop roll out will impact on your current jobs and to what extent the management try and vary your roles without agreement. If you are in doubt contact the branch. Continue to press home the need to have representation an the need to consult properly on the issues and ensure you get everything in writing. As their changes start to drive home a more aggressive direct we can then take stock of the protections and process we engage to represent you.

This branch update was meant to be a sad recognition that today we are planned to come off the previous and last ties to the public service IT system. That gave us an additional sense of identity as was public sector workers. Instead we have that bleak orange facing new screen of the take over and less of a light touch contract management that they tried to dupe many of us to believe. Well here we are a couple of days reprieve but whatever happens on the other side of the migration Napo will continue to get our message out there to you. If necessary open a new access point for all members through Napos national network. That said, I could not believe they would openly cut our all members information route while they still hold section 188 compulsory redundancy notices despite so many of our staff leaving shortly. Good luck to many of them our Napo members.

In saying goodbye we also loose our very well respected and ex Napo Branch Chair of Dorset. No doubt fed up and angered by the situation we all face. Another PO lost to the region and another mark on the spiral downwards of quality but there we are. Sadly our long served colleague Debbie Holmes will be leaving Napo ranks and the former great probation. Having served many years in a union role and a great supporter of equality fairness and practices. I will just say a simple thanks to Debbie here for now, but will mark her leaving for a new role properly in the next branch report. Thanks Deb.

Members thanks to all as we continue to fight to ensure your protections and restitution of your terms as we continue in the current dispute over health safety and your future securities. We will update you on the ACAS feud and virtual farce shortly.

Dino Peros SSW Branch Chair
JNCC Napo Rep

23 comments:

  1. So despite the considerable local effort by committed union activists it reads to me that Napo HQ continue to quietly procrastinate whilst WL have achieved what they wanted, i.e. to grind staff down & hand out reduced severance to those who have had enough, a la Sodexo. I really have concerns about how Unions seem to have allowed Sodexo & WL to walk all over staff.

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  2. All the hard work of dedicated probation staff being wiped out, trampled upon and dismissed. WL have their own ways of working!!! Disrespectful, arrogant, dismissive of the views and experiences of established probation staff.

    Cutting corners, lack of consideration for equality legislation in their planning processes, process - driven management styles matched with cow-towing to the higher WL echelons.

    For probation staff left, look forward to further erosion of your terms and conditions - previous CRC posts being 're-advertised' under new job titles but relatively unchanged jd's at half the salary of the position pre-split.

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  3. You've got to admire and pity the sad local reps in South West for their efforts but seems futile. WL have delivered their new framework and have never compromised, just like all the other privateers.

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  4. Yet another lacklustre game at the Chivalry Road Stadium. As predicted we had a familiar result to chants of "No hope Napo, No hope Napo":

    Greedy Lying Bullies 2 - 0 Napo

    Napo are now being relegated to the Closing-Down-Everything-Must-Go-Never-Won-a-Match Hardball League. Whilst no-one seems to have seen or heard from him or his executives for some time, and certainly not on the training pitch, it is believed Head Coach Lawrence continues to berate his team for "not turning up on the day." Key striker Dino Peros, who has been seen to be putting in the shifts, continues to believe in the team's survival. Other players were seen shaking their heads whilst contemplating less lucrative contracts. One player who refused to be identified said "We just don't know where we stand. Lawro tells us we're winning, but we haven't won a game yet. He tells us to trust him & that our contracts are safe but after he's been seen hanging around with the new team owners we end up with crap contracts. And he's let most of the experienced squad members walk away. We haven't scored a goal for six seasons now, except for those spectacular own goals. At least we've won Own Goal of the Month more times than any other team."

    We managed to contact a spokesperson for Wonky Legs, the clubs new owners, by video link. They smiled, reached into their pocket, lifted a roll of banknotes, crowed "Look at my wad!" then ended the call.

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    1. Fantastic entertainment

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    2. They're all shiny happy people in Wonky Links la la land. Everything is a success; hoovering up contracts like there is no tomorrow. Doleing (?) out laptops like Smarties with no prior consultation (do you really want to use one for 7.5 hours a day??) If pushed, Wonky Legs will admit they know about the hardball league, but aren't really followers of it, being golfing people themselves (so much more civilised as so much business gets stitched up off the record whilst ambling the course, avoiding the need for Proper Consultation and the like). Still well done NAPO for Making an Effort - Wonky Legs like 'their people' to be enthusiastic...

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  5. Napo, nationally and locally, like to talk a good fight. It can be entertaining but it's ineffective if the goal is to win or at least reach honourable compromises. As a union Napo may well excel at getting cheap cinema tickets or other marketing offers, but as a union able to defend, protect and advance the interests of its membership – it's useless. It's useless because the vast majority – the silent, apathetic majority – of its members ain't interested in doing anything to protect themselves. They moan but do nothing. The denouement in the South West was in the script many months back; it was always going to end in defeat. Like elsewhere, desperate to get out, even reduced severance was better than another humiliating day in cheap and cheerful Probation Direct.

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    1. Probation Direct it might be only working links are far worse.

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  6. I read in this update they are still waiting some legal advice and they are still in the process of the joint secretaries it may be too early to say anything other than the fighting appears at least to be still going on for the beach.

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    1. The beach is already taken but they're still squabbling over a couple of towels, a pair of flip-flops & a windbreaker.

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    2. 'Awaiting legal advice'- Oh come on...in the meantime we have had the Supreme court ruling on Brexit. It does not take months to get legal advice. It's a classic Napo tactic while the facts on the ground become reality.

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    3. I don't see how the local rep is in control of the legal advice but there is obvious slippage in how long it appears to be taking. I think we need Gina Miller as the new Napo leader the election is now coming up for the top job. Miller took on the Government and won. So amazing things can be done if you try harder Napo . The Chairs and Lawro seem lost in another drunken trance perhaps.

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    4. Maybe Jim should start a campaign for Ms Miller.

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    5. Hey here is a little realised ambition or secret. HARRY FLETCHER the best press officer ever and should and would have been the best General Secretary and we all missed the vote for him. He might be persuaded to stand and get rid of the current waste of money Mr Lawrence. When does the real election start please ? Or Trump ?

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    6. Harry Fletcher ???? Dream on

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    7. Well he could be its a free election and he has all the skills and none of the record of the current and really understands probation Parliament and was well respected there. I think its a real possibility what is the alternative the incumbent you dream on.

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  7. I don’t quite understand why the unions keep on at Lurking Winks. Aurelius are the puppeteers, with Lurking Winks as their marionette that pull’s the strings on the other two marionettes; Wales – Dawn Blower, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset & Wiltshire and Dorset, Devon & Cornwall – both headed by John Wiseman (I think?).
    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought staff would remain to be employed by each CRC? If that is the case, then surely it would be better to build a case of gross neglect shown in duty of care towards their staff in the form of health and wellbeing? If a member of staff had grounds for tribunal for whatever reason, it would be Blower or Wiseman in the dock so to speak as they are the employer.
    Cooperate Bullying would be another good case against them, the below is a snippet from the HSE website:

    “There is no legal definition of workplace bullying. However, experts believe that bullying involves negative behaviour being targeted at an individual, or individuals, repeatedly and persistently over time.

    Negative behaviour
    Negative behaviour includes:
    Giving you un-achievable tasks or ’setting you up to fail’
    Undermining your integrity
    Withholding information deliberately

    Constructive dismissal would be another good case against them. Those that have been unsuccessful in the redundancy rounds are now being forced to leave, due to the unacceptable workloads they are left with.

    If the unions started to point the finger at the CEO’s with regard to court cases against them, they might just start to see that they are being used??

    Just a thought from an admin bod that can’t see the TR shambles ever working

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    1. Simplistic naïve a good effort but you lack the basic understanding there would be ET claims when detriments to the membership are inflicted by the management. The sub plot for the severance is that foolish staff sign up for it on a VOLUNTEER basis and that's it.

      The arrangement will suit some staff as people nearer retirement age will gain a big pay-out and lose very little when they draw pension. Those mid 50s effectively make the single most costly decision to themselves. That is pretty much the advice I was given when I asked a well known union leader.

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    2. We've already been around the block with crass comments calling those who took severance in Sodexo areas. If unions had got their shit together then perhaps some union members wouldn't have lost faith & made the difficult choice to bale out. Much more than finance came into the equation for many such as mental/emotional health, physical health, bullying, pressures & threats from employers, etc.

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    3. Yea right but the money easy plaster fix and no spine when they went to sign up .

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    4. Obsessed by money & no regard for others' views. That's why, allied to an inert union, many experienced staff walked away; the new paradigm is greed, targets & bullying. Its as if Trump were running the CRCs.

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  8. Leave NApO, it's not fit for purpose. The monthly subscription is too expensive and Merseyside has just two nps reps for the entire staff. I joined a proper union to represent me at half the price.

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  9. Which union? I joined another well known union who did not answer calls and ignored messages left. NAPO gave more advice 'free' than a union receiving payment. For all its current failings, NAPO still the best option if you need a good rep.

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