Napo at Work in the South West 27

As usual, thanks go to the reader for forwarding the following. (I have not included the exchange of correspondence between the unions and Seetec).

Dear Members

Please read the attached documents from Napo GS and sister unions. We remain in dispute with Seetec over pay amongst other things. While we seek a fairer pay award we have had nothing that goes anywhere near a reasonable offer let alone fair. Instead Seetec continue to rewrite their own account of the truth. Their derisory, pathetic minimal contractual pay imposition on our members is just insulting when they won't attend properly to fair and assessed weighted workloads.

While we all look forwards to the new 80% staffing and workloads return to Public Services where pay is agreed by members and reflects a better pay value of staff, although still short of what Probation staff are worth. We can see now despite early day flannel in the Seetec CRC your worth less. They continue to expect more and their duplicitous campaign to damage our STAP protected policies. Your terms will be worsened should you be unfortunate enough to remain in a future CRC when and if new arrangements are brokered into place. Let's hope not then but for now you have the opportunity to register the dissent we hear from members daily in the anger staff feel at the way Seetec operate their attempts to force another major series of ill prepared changes whilst still ignoring the urgency of the recent HMIP report. This is an indicative ballot and a good response in number is important to register your continued unhappiness at the way the Seetec group continue the same tactics of their failed aggressive predecessors Working Links. Read carefully the good efforts of the NAPO Head Office to work positively with Seetec only to be aware of their real intentions of further and unreasonable delay tactic. 

Finally let you, the hard pressed staff down with the most miserly CRC pay award and differential between East and West that is incredible to try and front up. They have no sense of acting properly to pay well and equitably and this cannot be allowed to continue. Vote now, vote early when the survey comes to your e mail and let's ensure a full response so the Unions leaderships have a measure on what direction to push our action while unfairness on pay continues.

Dino Peros 

Napo SSW Branch Chair.

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SEETEC KSS CRC FAIL TO ENGAGE ON PAY – UNIONS LAUNCH INDICATIVE BALLOTS

In this special bulletin 

• Employer fails to supply relevant data and rejects further pay talks
• Shoddy pay award imposed on staff
• Staff told they should be grateful at ‘the further (non-pay related) investment’ by SEETEC
• All CRC members to be asked how we should now proceed

Why we are in dispute

Last month we advised members that the probation unions had formally notified KSS CRC/ SEETEC that we were now in dispute with the employer on Pay following their failure to comply with their obligation to supply data that would inform meaningful negotiations.

Despite a realistically structured pay claim and a detailed presentation to KSS/SEETEC senior management, it became clear that there was no real intention (or it seems any authority) to engage properly with the unions. Moreover, the information supplied (when it eventually arrived), was not only inadequate but failed to explain the reason why the employer is intent on maintaining a two-tier workforce with pay disparity between the east and west of their extended workforce. We then asked the employer to join us in common cause to make a case for additional funding from the MoJ/HMPPS and to meet with us again to see if any progress could be made towards improving their pay offer. The employer has rejected both of these requests.

All of the foregoing is in stark contrast to the promises from the employer to constructively engage with trade unions when they stepped in to replace the failed Working Links CRC. Some things do not change it seems.

Hard-pressed staff deserve a decent pay rise!

The astonishing revelation back in early 2018 that Working Links/Aurelius were paid £4.2 million by the MoJ in that financial year (part of a four year package reportedly worth £277 million to shore up the 21 CRCs in England and Wales) caused understandable anger among many members who had not seen a decent pay rise for some years. Just how much of this was pocketed by directors and shareholders is anyone’s guess.

It was quite reasonable for members to expect that once SEETEC had moved in to replace the shambolic Working Links regime there would be room in the new funding arrangements between SEETEC and the MoJ to offer staff a decent pay rise, especially as rates of pay in the NPS are substantially higher. Instead, their new employers have treated you with gross disrespect.

The imposition of a two-year award for staff working in the areas originally covered by KSS CRC has compounded matters and that award still falls short of the joint pay claim. This is why all CRC members are encouraged to take part in this important consultative exercise. This is an opportunity for members to demonstrate solidarity with each other across all of the regions now covered by the employer.

Appended to this bulletin are copies of correspondence between the unions and employer illustrating our efforts to negotiate and their response. We intend asking some serious questions in Parliament about the current funding structure that has been put in place and why SEETEC have obviously failed to undertake appropriate due diligence prior to replacing Working Links.

We want meaningful dialogue and transparency

We need to make it clear to all our members that the unions would rather not be in this dispute. We want to engage in dialogue where the employer shows a willingness to explore every avenue to pay staff what they deserve. Unfortunately, this will require a change in approach from the SEETEC board, who seem to think (as did the former disgraceful employer), that trade union members are an irrelevance. Just like their predecessors, they fail to understand that staff know more about what is actually needed to improve the catastrophic state of operations that they inherited. If they want your support in this regard then they ought to get back around the table and find the means to pay up now!

Indicative ballot - your chance to direct the dispute 

We need to get a better understanding from our loyal members as to what they think about the current situation and your willingness if necessary, to move to the next stage of this unnecessary dispute. Napo, UNISON and GMB are now launching a series of consultative ballots for our members across the whole of the KSS CRC. Please look out for more news about the balloting process and please show this bulletin to colleagues who may not be in a trade union and encourage them to sign up with the union of their choice and join the campaign for fair pay! 

We are asking all union members to make a clear statement in this ballot by voting ‘Yes’ to the relevant questions.

Ian Lawrence, Sarah Friday, Tania Bassett. Napo

Siobhan Brown, Debbie Monksfield, UNISON
Helen Coley. GMB