Here we have the latest edited blog post from Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence:-
MEMBERS ANGER – TIME TO SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
There has been significant feedback into Napo HQ and through members of the Probation Negotiating Committee (PNC) who met last week, about the shoddy and disrespectful response to the union’s claims on 2017-18 pay and longer-term probation pay reform. Indeed, I understand that a number of members have written directly to Michael Spurr to tell him in no uncertain terms just how unhappy they are not only with his of excuses, but its underlying sanctimonious tone.
That we are now in a situation where a number of Community Rehabilitation Companies are actually paying (or offering to pay) salaries higher than the NPS, (despite their own well-documented failings), is not something I would have bet on a few months ago, but it’s a strange world of course. Nevertheless, it would be unwise to think that this heralds some type of counter-revolution as many more CRC’s have still not made a pay award for 2017-18 and are prevaricating over their longer-term pay reform agendas.
The farce that we encountered in what passed as pay talks with the NPS hierarchy has been seen by many of those members who have shared their thoughts with us as the ‘thin edge of the wedge’, with many saying that it’s time to get out on the barricades or at least work to rule.
That mood wont have been helped by the statement issued on the NPS Intranet this afternoon together with the ‘Questions and no Answers’ which accompanied it. Talk about digging deeper when one is already in a hole.
This is not just an issue for NPS members
All of this and much more, was the focus for an in depth discussion at the PNC about how Napo and UNISON, (who we are meeting urgently this week) should respond. On Wednesday, the Officers and Officials Group will also be considering that debate, as well as looking at some recommendations that your pay negotiators are currently working on.
I remember making it very clear when I addressed conference last September of my serious doubts that a decent pay rise would arrive unless our members indicated that they were prepared to take industrial action if needs be. The two motions carried at AGM made it clear that the position on 2017-18 Pay and longer-term pay reform had to improve and quickly. It was also resolved that Napo would consult with members with a view to industrial action if necessary. The situation we are in entirely sits with those scenarios
But the expressions of anger that I have been copied into suggest that it’s time for all members, and not just those in the NPS to take a deep breath and realise that wherever you work you face a number of common problems Be it on pay, workloads and health and safety, while you try to shore up a fractured profession and maintain community safety whilst giving lots of goodwill.
Telling us what you are prepared to do
I intend to report in more detail after this week’s deliberations with colleagues, but it seems very clear to me that members are expecting their union to take a stand over the above issues. No problem with that from my end but, as I have said many times before, our members must decide on where we go next and their willingness to make the employer and this government think again. We will be in touch with you about this very soon.
It's a shame those people that are angry about pay did not make a stand before the split.
ReplyDeleteI always thought we should have gone on strike over the lack of investment in services which would rehabilitate those we work wit rather than our own pay. There. It’s out now. That reluctance to ever invest properly time-wise or money wise or reputation-wise in promoting the chances and opportunities of those coming out of prison or those at risk of going there. Many were consistently excluded from the mainstream or vilified because of their background from toddlerhood. We should have struck over that continuing institutional failure to try to redress some of the imbalance in society as they have appeared before us the the shape of our ‘clientel’. Our skills with people would have been employed in persuading our service users to chance life as “winners”, to chance the changes required.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick look back to yesterdays blog re a reply concerning UPW, I agree that things are changing from Management. Spreadsheet after spreadsheet regarding absences, example 200 hours UPW, full time worker with occasional childcare, illness etc. Panic, more than 2 acceptable absences?What!Professional judgement... No Way! Not allowed! BREACH or take back to Court to extend quick. Panic stations!
ReplyDeleteRediculous state of affairs, got to agree that UPW is to be seen as the punitive community alternative to prison just around the corner. Agree that the public and media would accept this.
Solidarity is a great thing. Just a shame it's in short supply amongst the probation workforce - who moan and groan and fail to unite. I gather some 750 NPS members allowed their membership to lapse as a consequence of check-off and CRC has membership declined by some 20%. No wonder pay erodes - there is no negotiating muscle.
ReplyDeleteThere will be a strike – but only in la-la land. There may be a vote for a work-to rule, that trusty road to nowhere, that has never achieved anything in the public services. You have to go back to the car industry in the 1970's to find work-to-rules having any impact through the withdrawal of overtime and slowing-down production lines.
It's a bitter pill to swallow, but there is nothing to be done. The employers know the probation workforce is docile and lacks any solidarity.
How do you know they didn’t? Let’s focus on the here and now and support those who are negotiating. Napo will no doubt be balloting members to ratify pay offers soon. NPS will be left behind because let’s face it this government is never going to allow third rate cicivil servants to blow raspberries at the private sector. The more people who are in a union and active then the stronger our voice is to argue for a similar deal to colleagues in the CRCs. Lawrence is a bit naive to expect otherwise really The fact is that noone anticipated how bad TR would be
ReplyDelete"noone anticipated how bad TR woukd be" - I beg to differ. THIS is why its useful to "rehash" old news, comments, quotes, blog pieces, speeches, documents, etc etc. Because if we don't, history gets re-written.
DeletePlenty of people anticipated TR would be (to steal a phrase) an Omnishambles of epic proportions; or a clusterfuck, a shitstorm, a total disaster.
I agree - keep rehashing - it's called history or getting the facts straight.
DeleteRatify pay offer!! That ship sailed along time ago Spurr has informed us of his genourous pay award today
Delete£342m to improve services, but no demand to increase staffing levels.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/342-probation-staff_uk_5a9433d6e4b02cb368c44999
'Getafix
Strike action would be futile. The better way is an ongoing work to rule. If it's not in your job description then you don't do it - for as long as it takes.
ReplyDeleteWhat's not in our job description it seem to me that OMs are responsible for everything
DeleteWork to rule is strike action in the eyes of the law. A ballot has to be held. If a union fails to do this their funds can be sequestrated.
ReplyDeleteWorking to rule is industrial action that falls short of strike action, but it still requires a ballot.
DeleteWorking to rule however does require those involved in such action to know just what those rules are.
The difficulty of working to rule in probation is that there is no universal model to identify with.
All CRCs work differently, and all differ from NPS practices.
Some may be unaware (I was) that there's a Westminster Hall debate today on the future of privatised probation services.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/home-affairs/prisons/opinion/house-commons/93186/ellie-reeves-mp-it-time-rethink-privatised
JB - some comments relevant to today have been posted at the end of yesterday's blog because today's page wouldn't accept posts for a while
ReplyDeletewatch ellie reeves' debate here
ReplyDeletehttp://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/1de0c585-6526-48d4-8e03-473ebcf321c2
esp Jenni Chapman at 10:11-ish on the timecode
Rory Stewart looks very uncomfortable!
Deletealso very positive input from Imran Hussain
DeleteSo Rory tells us that for 30 to 40 years, probation has been burdened with stubborn reoffending rates of 50% within 12 months, and 70% within 9 years. Academics...true???
DeleteSo here are the MoJ's own statistics published 25 Oct 2012:
DeleteBetween January and December 2010, around 650,000 offenders were cautioned, convicted (excluding immediate custodial sentences) or released from custody. Around 170,000 of these offenders committed a proven re-offence within a year. This gives a one year proven re-offending rate of 26.7 per cent, which represents a rise of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and a fall of 1.2 percentage points since 2000 (Table 1)."
26.7% in 12 months
26.3% the previous 12 months
27.9% in 2000
Anyone got a Bullshit Button for Rory?
Rory states a caseload "should not go above 50, 55 people"
DeleteCrispin Blunt also quoted that case loads are on average the same as before the split at about 50.
DeleteMaybe a push to make 50 the maximum number would force the private companies to spend some of their £342m on staffing, instead of pocketing it all and making further cut backs.
Rory: "a cultural change is needed so that probation staff learn to let go of their clients and allow voluntary sector to take over"
DeleteRory: Probation "combines the work of a social worker with the work of someone having to implement a court order and to protect the public."
DeleteThe most sensible thing he's said so far...
... in fact, the only truly sensible thing he said really. So hats off for that, at least. No appetite for changing anything, no appetite for re-nationalising, clearly committed to the CRC cause.
DeleteRory might have another problem waiting in the wings.
DeleteForbes gives quite an insight into the woes facing Interserve, and it doesn't look good.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2018/02/27/the-fallout-from-carillions-failure-could-interserve-be-the-next-domino-to-fall/#1b5f220bd45a
Just back from a day at the coalface, I will catch the debate in a mo. Last hour or so of my working day in an interminable telephone call with SSCL which can be summarised as
ReplyDelete"I am not getting paid this month?"
"No"
"Why?"
"Machine says no"
"Can I speak to your manager?"
"No"
"Can I have her name?"
"No"
followed by a chirpy email from on high inviting me to contribute to their "Great and Good" initiative, (eg suggestions box) as they want to know how best to harness and use the experience, commitment, perspective of staff blah blah.
I had to sit on my hands to stop myself sending the expletive laden response that it was provoking
No pay rise and not getting paid. Chuffing 'ell that is ... Nope, can't find the words to successfully express what I want to say. I am sure you will sort the latter, I know I have had to previously, but the former might drag on a while longer I guess. Of course both have consequences potentially, bills unable to be met and, to put it bluntly, getting poorer. On a cheerier note it could be worse. Yours in humour and sympathy.
Deletere 1522 and your comment Jim - 1612, I wonder if 2 Guest Blogs I had in 2014 would be of any new interest. On 30/9/14 you printed Shakespearian Tragedy or Comedy? (remember that? My first Guest Blog effort!) It went to a lot of papers who weren't interested and others like Simon Israel who were but nowt came of it.
ReplyDeleteMy second was 27/12/14 and was Guest Blog 14, when I wrote a very polite letter to Chris Grayling, while pulling him up on all his lies. He didn't reply, surprise,surprise. The press wouldn't print that either, tho' the Journal did print my article Probation in Chaos (or something like that) which I think is also on the blog somewhere around that time. The interviewer took and printed the worst photo ever of me!
I also wrote to Andrew Selous about the state of Probation and prisons, challenging him on the whole mess. I sent a copy to my MP, who, instead of bringing it up in Parliament, passed it on to Andrew, who already had my letter! And he then smugly tried to reassure me that everything was progressing nicely, some very successfully. All untrue!
The main point I make is that nothing has really changed from the first mad year, when nothing was working and everything was falling apart, old standards have been lost and crazy ideas brought in as new and shiny. All the old issues which CG created, are still there, while he rakes it in pulling the trains apart. When is he gonna be sacked, when all can see he is in love with himself and laughing at the rest of the world.How long can a man go on, cracking up the country while making millions for doing it? Why does he not get sacked?- WITH NO FAT POCKETS OF MONEY!!!! Oh ok then, with £47 in his pocket...
I am surprised that there aren’t more comments regarding the ‘great and good ideas ‘ initiative.
ReplyDeleteTo publish this crass and ill thought out claptrap at the same time as stating that there is no money for your longest serving loyal employees shows how desperate the supposed leadership is.
They ask how we can improve things with th e courts, the public and All and sundry but have no concept of how disgraceful their conduct is towards what they used to say was their greatest asset, their staff.
I have a whole host of ideas as to how we can improve service. Most of them consist of a wholesale change at the top
Anon at 19.21 again
ReplyDeleteI've listened to the whole debate. Hats off to Ellie Reeves for getting this debate, hats off to the participants, especially Jenny Chapman's persistent and pointed remarks, which showed a depth of understanding lacking in many around her.
Rory Stewart seems to be about half way through reading up his probation brief. He did that thing that ministers do of reciting his learning-to-date with trenchant authority but less underlying understanding. Plus a smattering of Tory-isms "back to basics", "innovation", tragically also trotting out a few Graylingisms "stubborn reoffending rates" "important role of charities". Oh, and TTG apparently crucial. He even remembered to appreciate the #hardworkingprobationstaff. Unbelievably depressing to hear him put up the "bedding in" defence and resolve to get the CRCs working properly as his solution. Revolving door of a conversation,
Labour also seem to have fallen into an ideological mantra of private bad, public good, so solution is to take back the CRCs. The CRCs cannot go back, as where they came from doesn't exist any more. The situation in the CRCs is absolutely dire, but the situation in the NPS is pretty rubbish too.
One point where there does seem to be some universal agreement: the third sector has been pushed out by the CRCs, to everyone's regret.
Ministers on all sides pondering the difficulties of "scaling up" successful local third sector initiatives. Utterly misses the point! Sieze the opportunities where they are, don't drown them with bureaucracy and centralised control. Preferably enable a strong unified probation service to work in partnership with local organisations at the scale they are operating in.
First impressions, I will watch it again, especially Rory Stewart, first time I have heard him on topic
After a day down't'pit with nowt to eat, you've done well to sit through the debate as well - and you make good points.
DeleteThere are too many lies to wade through and unravel in this TR bollox including the "stubbornly high reoffending rates", the "thousands of unsupervised, unseen prisoners" on the loose, the ignored & unloved voluntary sector...
I was a volunteer in the 1980's 'embedded within' a probation team to provide support for prisoners' families; and I also worked for NACRO for a while (NB: they weren't in bed with Sodexo at that time).
I then became a Probation Services Assistant working with a caseload of Money Payment Supervision Orders & non-statutory cases i.e. those who had either finished their Orders/Licences or were released without Licence but wanted assistance, e.g. housing.
So before the 20th century was over I ticked every box that 21st century Grayling wanted ticked, yet still the spiteful wretched creature - and those who aided & abetted his twisted gut ideology - insisted on destroying a profession, many careers, and inflicted untold misery upon many more human lives.
and you also illustrate the point Jenny Chapman was making: the profession needs to contain the opportunity for staff to start at the "low" end, and develop skills, confidence and maturity, some ending up at the "high" end. My caseload is now so densely high risk, and nearly all RSO's, that I occasionally catch myself thinking of those that raped adults as the "good guys". Draining.
DeleteI have scan read every speech in the debate via Hansard.
DeleteIt is mostly incoherent with nothing said that was not predicted since 2013, except that now we have official reports that demonstrate how catastrophe has occured rather than will occur.
There seems no understanding in parliaament about what or who a probation officer is and no mention even of probation service officers.
Even the proposer of the debate has no definite remedies to propose beyond ending privatisation, which is not the main cause of the problems, but the way the contracts were established and are being operated.
The problems begin from the split and deprofessionalism and not understanding that to be effective probation needs to be primarily a branch of social work.
We also need to remember thaat local authority social workers have far more power over the liberty of the subject than any probation worker because they initiate court orders that deprive liberty and enforce relocaation of subjects whereas probation workers only ever respond to such court orders.
Much more could be said, but there seems no point.
https://goo.gl/vUqEFd
ReplyDeleteThe lack of any progress with pay reform is a farce especially when the senior civil servant authorised to sort it seemingly agrees that the current pay scales could give rise to discrimination. The Tribunal may soon be losing patience with no change ( Mr C Heskett v Secretary of Staye for Justice) ?
ReplyDeleteI can't understand why the Probation unions aren't pursuing an equal pay claim ? But perhaps they are part of the problem?