IAN LAWRENCE
CONTINUITY, EXPERIENCE, LEADERSHIP
My election (one of few GS’s from the BAME community), came when TR was on the horizon threatening to destroy Probation and Napo amidst concerns over the future of CAFCASS. You showed trust in me to defend your profession and I want to see this job through.
Political opinion has damned Graylings vandalism. It will be a while before Probation returns to public ownership but I intend to help us get there.
Our future
- 'Strategy For Growth' better member engagement, new ICT, training and support for reps,and state of the art communications. I oppose any notion of merging with another union.
- Probation pay reform means ending gender pay discrimination, decent pay rises for all and quicker movement up the pay scales. This must also apply to Cafcass and PBNI members.
- Collective bargaining Labours leaders say their Government will restore this and scrap the TR contracts. I believe them; but meanwhile I’ll work with all politicians for a community focused, desistance driven probation model, free from the CRC’s and the still Prison-centric HMPPS.
- Campaigning my work has included many television and media interviews, professional seminars, public rallies and oral evidence to the Justice Select Committee. I have shown my ability to promote the values of the profession and win respect for your work.
- NPS A Licence to Practice. Ending the shambolic management e.g debacles on pay, pensions, Market Forces, SSCL and AP DWNC. I worry that the OMIC project is another disaster. Its’ disgraceful that our VLO member’s role has been denigrated when victims are abandoned by this Government.
- CRC’s TR has failed; CRC’s are broke despite the £340m bail out. I will work to protect members and vital services, but will gladly help the privateers to hand back the keys. I want an end to the risks posed by unsafe operational models.
- Cafcass I will continue arguing for the resources for FCS to engage with Ministers and the Judiciary on the LASPO review and initiatives against DV, as we maintain our campaigns against high workloads and the scandal of Litigants in Person.
- Northern Ireland The current political impasse is a worry for our PBNI members and the plans to change terrorist-related supervision arrangements are unacceptable. I pledge support to our members in that struggle.
- Diversity I have supported Women in Napo, the Black Members Network and partnership with Staff Associations. I am proud of our work before and after the Lammy Review. The Stephen Lawrence commemoration and ‘Windrush’ scandal plus Brexit linked abuses of immigrants, Muslim, Jewish and LGBT communities shows we still have problems. My experience of racism motivates me to resist all discrimination and hate crime.
Why me?
I have the experience and work ethic that will help us win through, and a proven record of leadership under pressure (see more in NQ8 and the Napo Magazine). It would be a privilege to serve you again.
Endorsements John McDonnell Shadow Chancellor, Steve Gillan POA General Secretary, Laura Richards CEO Paladin, Jo Stevens MP
--oo00oo--
MICHAEL ROLFE
MICHAEL ROLFE
The General Secretary role within NAPO is not a job to be taken lightly. It comes with immense responsibility. The individual must possess the attributes to take criticism, the physical and mental stamina to remain resolute no matter how hard it gets and must be able to take pressure from all directions whilst retaining absolute loyalty to the Union’s membership.
Probation and the Family courts staff in England and Wales have faced many harsh realities in recent years most notably through the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda, Privatisations of essential work to the 21 Community Rehabilitation companies, workloads spiralling out of control leading to a deprofessionalisation of the essential work whilst also seeing pay, terms and conditions erode away. Now is the time for unity in the face of adversity.
I have worked within the Criminal Justice sector for 15 years as a Prison Officer. From day one of working in the sector I recognised the importance of belonging to a trade union and having a voice to shape and mould the future. Whilst there is much I would need to learn if successful I do understand how important your work is from my own personal experiences and having forged close relationships with some of NAPO’s senior figures through joint trade union and political activity. I also had the privilege of addressing your AGM in 2016 as National Chair of the Prison Officers Association.
You need a General Secretary with the necessary experience and the determination to succeed. I believe I have those necessary attributes having previously led the POA and having a proven track record of successfully negotiating settlements using various methods. These successes were achieved during periods of austerity and culminated in improvements in many areas for the benefit of POA members. I believe I will be able to generate a proactive and ambitious agenda for change working collaboratively with your elected Officials. As your General Secretary my priorities would be;
- Fight for ‘proper’ and ‘fair’ pay and rewards.
- Make NAPO a more campaign driven Union engaging members at every level.
- Use media highlighting our plight to the press.
- Forge political relationships to influence change across parties.
- Build the visibility and influence of NAPO.
- Restructure the Union to ensure efficiency and long-term sustainability.
- Educate and empower representatives at every level to ensure quality representation.
- Be open, honest and transparent in all that NAPO do.
- Campaign for better terms and conditions for our members.
- Increase Union membership and stressing the importance of belonging to a Union.
- Visit area branches listening to the issues and problems at the coal face and formulating strategies to address those issues.
A vote for Mike Rolfe is a vote for the future of NAPO.
The statements both read aspirational intentions. Only one of them has had the opportunity to deliver. So, where are we now lost hundreds of experienced and missed colleagues failures in practically every aspect of NAPO business. Low pay awards or none at all for many. In NPS we lost 3 days Annual leave days and not a murmur from the erstwhile leadership. Add that to the Mantra best that could be achieved makes you consider this election very carefully. The choices are either more of the same blow hards no real intentions and the continued fight from the lost and the bottom. Or the renew candidate still fighting from the bottom has a lot to learn but reads keen has no experience in employed leadership roles as was only a national chair of a big union. Not much of a choice then.
ReplyDeleteNot much of a choice at all. Where are all the probation officer / union reps?
ReplyDeleteProbation officers as union leaders HA HA Ha ha Look at the last one. Never POs are not up to this role not a Trade Union leader No No No.
DeleteA leadership failure and an ex prison officer. Can we not do better than this?
ReplyDeleteLike who any of the two inept and unable co Chairs or one of the Vice Chairs.
DeleteI was more hoping a local branch chair or rep. There’s many with probation, management, leadership, trade union and even political experience who could do a much better job than the current numpties.
DeleteOh yes Like who ?
DeleteIan Lawrence needs to go if Napo want to attract members back the union needs a new broom
ReplyDeleteThe people who have endorsed Ian. What do they know about anything?
ReplyDeleteProbably nothing much of interest at. They are the chosen elected officers I think. The next steps will be the NEC to put either or both through to an election. I doubt there will be an election when the NEC representative understand if we have an election it will cost thousands of pounds . If we change General the cost to pay that severance will be well over 100k and handover periods of six months. So will the NEC not consider this. The Session of looking at the candidates had better be pretty amazing from the outsider if there is any chance of getting through the next stage. So no more premature speculations help as we do not have an election process yet.
DeleteThe only endorsements I see are those named on the bottom of his statement and wasn't it a selection process that put through both candidates. NEC as I understand it will only be stating a preference. Its a members ballot that will see who gets to be the next GS. Think I would pay 100K from my own pocket to see another GS in post if I was flush this one has to go at any cost his already cost members dearly more than 100K if you round up all our losses in pay.
DeleteCant argue that but the figure head is not just the problem but the sacrifice. Some heads will have to go once he is sorted out in the ballot.
DeleteTime for some PROPER leadership, Interserve style:
ReplyDelete"Chief executive Debbie White is to receive £525,897 for her work from September to December 2017.
This includes a bonus of £270,089, which is 125 per cent of her pro-rata base salary of £216,667 since she joined in September 2017.
Interserve has also granted Ms White almost 1.9m shares to replace awards that she “forfeited” when she left Sodexo to join the company.
Ms White’s total annual salary for 2018 is £767,000, including a pension contribution of 15 per cent.
When Ms White took up her position on 1 September, Interserve shares were around £1.18. By 31 December they were trading at around 95p... the company’s 2017 results last week revealed a £244m pre-tax loss for the year"
Interserve shares as at close on 11 May 2018:
Delete72.30p
61% lower than when Ms White started at Interserve.
This is how the priveleged few define & reward 'leadership'.
I am backing Mike Rolphe. When he was Chair of POA he banged heads together and during the prisons crisis in 2016 he got more staff and a better pay deal. He was also ever present in the media. He has a background in finance and is a manager as well as a committed trade unionist
Deleteand Interserve have just begrudgingly given staff one increment (that we're entitled to as per terms & conditions of service) it equates to £239 per annum ie take home £12 per month extra. Miss White you should be embarrassed!!
DeleteChas Berry's declared support for Rolfe has sealed it for me. I'm voting for Ian Lawrence
Delete.. Propaganda already! Mike Rolphe “banged heads together and during the prison crisis” ..... prisons are STILL in crisis!
DeleteChas Berry could not back the winner in a one Horse race. Polling just 200 votes himself in a national chairs election he is most certainly wanting to run again.
DeleteAnother term of Berrys incompetence might see him not just bungle the collective bargaining issues like he did. He then fails to hold to account the AGS and GS officials of NAPO who got involved in Motion business changing national bargaining to devolved area. For that alone they all should go.
I agree. The entire Napo Exec needs to be wiped clean. Including National Chairs and Tania Bassett the most silent press officer in the world!
DeleteWho is she then ? Never heard of her.
DeleteExactly my point!
DeleteWent to the rally on pay today in London. disappointing turnout generally and hardly any Napo officials. All should have attended to support Unions and TUC. No sign of the press officer as normal.
DeleteIan had one job. To stop TR. He failed. Now to be fair to him there were many reasons Napo failed but he should do a survey monkey election test vote and if he loses that he should step down. I will vote for Mike we need a new GS. Napo needs to fight under Ian we conceded TR and lost too much.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to the GS, nobody could have stopped TR. The GS and Napo exec’s failure is that since TR the union has been in disarray and has generally failed members on every issue. Because Napo is so useless and also so ignored by probation organisations, I do not think there is anything that can turn it around short of Bob Crow returning from the dead to run for GS.
DeleteI pay my Napo dues because it’s abysmal representation is better than nothing at all. Whoever’s at the top it’ll still be a useless union. I will not be wasting my time voting for Ian Lawrence or Mike Rolfe.
Hey Mr Berrys quote
Delete"is a manager as well as a committed trade unionist"
We need a proper trade unionist first and foremost not more managerialism. This is going to be a farce with your lack of political nouse
I say bring back Harry Fletcher!
Delete20:43 To be fair to the GS, nobody could have stopped TR. The GS and Napo exec’s failure "
DeleteWhat happened in the Judicial what secrets did they keep from us who can you trust in NAPO now.
TR was unstoppable. The government made sure of that. I don’t support IL and don’t trust Napo generally. TR was not IL’s fault, but failures since are.
DeleteThe judicial review was never going to win either, it was merely to slow down the process of TR. where Napo failed bigtime was in its unspoken policy of not taking up multiple member cases against probation because it wanted to save on legal fees and tribunal costs.
DeleteThat is incredible really ? How many employment cases have napo taken up then to proceeding for Napo members if there are none this is very serious. A union without Tribunals is not a fighting union at all and this reflects on the whole leaderships abilities. No wonder the MOJ do not take any matters from probation unions seriously .
DeleteA £270000 bonus for the Chief Exec - meanwhile the cleaners had to wait an extra week to get their wages last month
ReplyDeleteHas anyone mentioned Interserve's email to every employee about forthcoming redundancies?
ReplyDeleteWhat's that about ? 1908 are you able to say more about Interserve and a redundancy email ?
DeleteAn email was last week sent to all interserve staff including CRC staff detailing 'Phase 2' of the Interserve 'fit for Growth' initiative - i.e. the last ditch attempt to rescue the clearly failing company by slashing anything and everything (apart from executive bonuses, natch') - and it states clearly that Interserve will be making further edundancies. Now this email has been sent to all of Interserve's staff, but let's not kid ourselves that CRC staff are any more important or valued than the rest of Interserve's remaining workforce
DeleteThanks for that - clearly a copy of the email or transcipt would be helpful.
Delete"You showed trust in me to defend your profession and I want to see this job through" urgmmmmm you have seen the job through Ian we put our trust in you and and you weren't able to defend our profession. Perhaps you haven't noticed its unrecognisable, devalued, disrespected, destroyed and downtrodden. You finished our jobs and yes you have finished the job so its time to go. Bring in the new broom, they couldn't do any worse.
ReplyDeleteJust my personal opinion,(and I take the view that the union could not have stopped TR, but perhaps could have achieved more around how it was implimented),but I think that outsourcing and privatisation has changed the face of public services so radically and the unions representing public service employees just haven't responded to those changes in the radical fashon required.
ReplyDeleteI think the unions occupy a very complicated position currently, and some simply just don't have the "clout" anymore to effect good bargaining.
Maybe it's time for some unions to think about amalgamting and growing bigger and having a little more muscle to back any negotiations they find themselves in.
'Getafix
Completely off topic, but as Grayling is really the architech of TR, and there's been several calls for his resignation in the last two weeks, for both his handling of the transport system, and having been caught being dishonest, (the Yorkshire Post has practically launched a campaign for him to resign, I can't resist posting this snippet from todays Times.
ReplyDeleteAn estimated £500m bailout of the Crossrail train line is expected to be announced within weeks, to prevent work on the colossal infrastructure project from grinding to a halt, The Sunday Times can reveal.
Faced with problems over the power supply and signals, the £14.8bn London rail scheme — one of the largest construction projects in Europe — is drifting substantially over budget.
Contractors are racing against the clock to complete the line in time for its scheduled December opening. The budget overspend will raise more questions about Britain’s ability to deliver mega- projects on time and to budget.
Work on a string of huge schemes, from the £20bn Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset to the .....
'Getafix