Hi Jim,
The results for the General Secretary election are in and I extend my congratulations to Ian Lawrence on being successfully re-elected for a further 5 years. There are many battles ahead for Napo and its membership and you will continue to have my full support for the struggles ahead as you collectively kick back against TR and push for fair pay whilst trying to survive as an independent union.
Whilst there is much that I wish I could have done during this election but was unable to, ultimately the Napo membership have decided and now is not the time for raising concerns over the process or even on the conduct of this election. It is much more important that you collectively get behind your leadership and General Secretary and show unity going forward in order to try and achieve the goals that are important to members.
I wanted to thank you for offering me a platform to engage with members via this blog and appreciate you giving me some airtime to try and let the members that use your site the ability to know a little more about me. I will of course continue to monitor your progress very closely and I sincerely hope that a positive message for Napo members is forthcoming soon.
I hope that by putting my name in the hat I will have assisted in the attitude changing towards negotiation and engagement with the different employers and that my messages on taking issues head on with vigour, enthusiasm and not being afraid of industrial action will form part of the future thinking of Napo. As I have stated during the election process you will not achieve anything through complacency and compliance and you must fight for everything that you desire so long as it is a reasonable and sensible request.
All that is left for me to say is thank you to those branches that nominated me and a huge thank you to all of those that voted for me and for my message of change. I apologise that I was unable to meet with members and spend time learning first hand your issues but I appreciate those that took a chance on me by giving me their vote and I hope that you remain justified in making that decision. Once again thank you and all the best for the future.
Kind Regards
Mike Rolfe
It was always going to be Ian and we have wasted a great deal of NAPO money on running a ballot at a time when our income is at a critically low ebb.
ReplyDeleteI would say the same a vanity activity born from a berry anti Ian snipe. Mike was a used pawn but actually showed he knew too little on union matters. Too little on employment contracts
DeleteToo little on collective bargaining and wants a small union to fork out 225k to let a novice have a go. Rolfe is as daft as berry and together a crash. Let's hope this drudging
Clears us of the ego battles from the foolish . Napo can move forwards and battle on with committee report recommendations and fight t r that's where we can now direct Ian Lawrence attention as Napo general secretary. Well done to him.
Lets hope he doesbt cry to the certification officer over it
DeleteI’m sorry mike didn’t win
ReplyDeleteIan Lawrence isn't probably laughing his head off right now read this inquisition and the Jim brown post mortem on how to Torpedo your candidates chances by feeding them duff information. Sticking to a gross misleading issue and then trying to foist it off as a clerical error . Dishonesty ?
DeleteAnon 09:49 You can continue to huff and puff, but the fact of the matter is a considerable number of Napo members are deeply unhappy with IL and things had better improve or I predict some very choppy waters ahead indeed.
DeleteNot on your current form of helping no one in the lopsided election help.
DeleteMe too 9.02 I won’t be rejoining Napo after all but I don’t think it will be around much longer
DeleteI'm glad it was Ian who won.
DeleteIt appears the blog is first with the news as the result is not posted elsewhere, neither are the figures.
ReplyDeleteI think the comments on this site during the election period show that significant number of members are unhappy and I hoe that any victory speech states how things will change in the future.
One thing is certain we can’t survive five more years of what we have had
Possibly but the extra 225 for inputting Rolfe would have released nothing for members . Besides MR lacked any real knowledge it was openly accepted he spouting rubbish fed to him from an NEC member this is not a good sign.
DeleteAnon 09:43 I would normally bite my tongue when I see rubbish posted here on a regular basis - but I'll make an exception today.
DeleteOne of the reassuring aspects of this blog is your impartiality Jim, also your accurate information feeds and diverse reader contributions. Please don't change that or single out individuals as your comments carry significant impact as the author of the blog. Thanks Jim
DeleteImpartial hardly over the election? It was not a good election I agree but it was not helped there were no appropriate process to get the debate going. Then it was inevitable. Napo could have saved the money and the wind bagging. Look on though integrity has a part IL could have wanted to lose and take the money but he is staying on to finish his mission as he puts it.
DeleteApologies just spotted typo on my post above so re-submitting.
DeleteHow you restrain yourself Jim I do not know
but then again, how you have kept on keeping on and providing salient material day-in, day-out is amazing and more than a poke in the eye to Ian Lawrence who writes such tediously poor blogs and as for the shamefully silent Co-Chairs...! No excuse for nil communications on the Napo webpage.It amazes me where all these supporters for Ian have suddenly emerged from on this blog. My heart sinks thatwe have another 5 years. To use the crazy pay-off built into the t&c as reason why we should have voted for Ian is ridiculous. And to 5:55 IL had come to the end of his tenure so the job had to be re-advertised ,if someone stands assessed as suitable then there has to be an election competition and a ballot. As this is Jim's blog as far as I'm concerned he can be as partial, impartial as he wants Those who don't like that don't have to read the blog. I'd like to see the election figures
Moving on as we must, if the CRC contracts are to be shortened by 2 years then what a nightmare the next couple of years are going to be for those left struggling already on a daily basis. No replacement of staff, no new innovations (if there were anyway) total damage limitation at least for the smaller CRCs who will not be in a position to rebid for a larger area. CS is a very expensive cost, expect major changes to the day to day running of Unpaid Work.
ReplyDeleteWe are about to enter into wage negotiations on top of all the other issues we face.
ReplyDeleteIan Lawrence must deliver or there will be an exodus.
The members appear to have supported him now he has to prove that this was the right decision
Waiting here with bated breath to know how many many voted in droves in high turnout election, an election freed of the murky business of campaigns – in what was a bespoke election, with a finely crafted person spec and job description to suit the incumbent. Normally in such elections opponents are either imprisoned or shot, but it's amazing what can be achieved when you do everything possible to create an impression that nothing is happening – inertia is the winner. But I am possibly being too cynical. What does worry me is that Napo is sitting on 2 million from the sale of a property and there is no guarantee it will be used to purchase another property. If this money is used to fund deficits arising from a declining membership and pay packages, then in five years time there will be no need for a further election.
ReplyDeleteIndeed - and possibly a very large tax bill if a property is not purchased.
DeleteThat money is already ear marked for the NAPO official who is disappointingly not able not a trade unionist and not a labour voter. The issue is well discussed on here already and he is happy to pay 300k plus to a tory tax machine on that sale money. The figures on the campaign are out but the job description was not crafted for Ian in my opinion. It was wordy and poorly constructed by a deluded appearance of seeking the prime of Miss Jean Brodies crème de la crème. It was a sickening over blown job description. The figures are an overwhelming mandate for Ian Lawrence says it all really.
DeleteAre the GS election figures being deliberately held back?
ReplyDelete814 cast 275 to MR loser and 538 IL winner. 1 spoilt paper. approximately 2-1 Rolfe had no chance whatever the low turnout and 4000 members did not vote. Or did they really get a paper?
DeleteSame old crap. Only one spoiled paper? There are three people I know who say they spoiled their paper by putting another box with a made up name
ReplyDelete