Latest From Napo 220

Napo's AGM is taking place virtually next Thursday and Friday 8th and 9th October and was the subject of yesterday's mailout to members:-

 
Katie Lomas, talks about the importance of getting together (virtually)

This year’s AGM planning has been a bit different than usual. We began as ever just after the 2019 AGM having already booked the Eastbourne venue. Lots of work goes in every year to plan speakers, professional sessions, fringe events and entertainment to engage and inspire members. As lockdown hit we realised we may need to do things differently this year and we began looking at options. We started by looking at the four elements of AGM; formal business and accountability, making policy via motions, professional input and the opportunity to get together. 

Our constitution is clear that all members of Napo are eligible to attend AGM and we wanted to maintain that principle rather than hold a smaller event where we would need to restrict numbers for safety. We eventually found a company who would be able to help us deliver a fully virtual event including all of the elements we needed. In summer we took a proposal to NEC to go ahead with a fully virtual event because even if restrictions were somewhat relaxed by October it was unlikely we would be able to get 300+ people together in a venue safely. 

So began our adventure in virtual event planning. We worked with Live Group to help them understand all of the things our members need from AGM and they helped us to understand how to deliver them virtually. Some things may look and feel a bit different but we tried wherever possible to make sure we offer more, not less, than usual. Of course we were now squeezing a year of planning into about two months so it has been a challenge in many ways and, unlike in most years, we will be doing planning right up to the last minute.

One of the things that many members value about AGM is the chance to get together, whether they are having a meal with their branch group or attending the main entertainment or even just grabbing a cuppa with someone they only get chance to meet at Napo AGM it’s so important to make those connections. So we have built in lots of ways to do this. We will have online forums as part of the event hub that members can use to discuss topics or just to chat, we will also have some networking fringe meetings for members in similar work areas. Members will be able to search the list of participants for people from a specific branch, location or work area and make contact via the event hub. 

Finally we have some entertainment options for Thursday evening. There will be no recreation of the famous Ian Lawrence DJ set (as seen in Nottingham) or the equally famous Southport karaoke but we have instead got an exclusive DJ set made specially for us by Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin’ Criminals) which he has put together to mark both Napo’s victory over TR and Black History Month. If that’s not your thing you will be able to join a virtual salsa class and learn how to mix rum cocktails with our friends from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

In my next countdown blog I will explore some of the other elements of Napo AGM, in the meantime register before Sunday to make sure you get a physical copy of the Programme and Motions Booklet. But don’t worry if you don’t get sorted in time, those documents will be on the event hub too!

Katie Lomas

--oo00oo--

I've taken the following from the introduction to the Annual Report. We will cover other aspects over subsequent blog posts:- 

Mission not yet fully accomplished 

By any standards some of the events that have impacted on our members and the wider world since we left AGM in Cardiff last year, are almost unbelievable. 

Who could have forecast the tragedy and horror of at least 40,000 deaths in our communities during a C-19 Pandemic that has seen a litany of mismanagement and neglect. The most serious allegation that they were simply too slow to act when the impending threat was there for all to see, has yet to be accounted for. 

Napo’s response to the crisis given our size and resources compared to our sister unions was quite remarkable. First was the need to urgently engage with the highest levels of senior management across all the employers where we are recognised, and Government Ministers. Here we insisted on our involvement in the planning and implementation of Exceptional Delivery Models and have issued regular updates to our members to keep them apprised of our work. 

We have also launched specific Health and Safety training and have seen a welcome increase in representatives and contacts to help us resist the potential spread of this dreadful virus to staff and clients. We have also been successful in securing time for our representatives to play an important part in this work. 

Not that the recovery process has been somehow easier as have tried to make sense of the latest advice from Government that all too often fails to match the reality of the real world. 

Judging by our survey results working permanently from home has been a mixed picture for our members with a significant number of you reporting that it brings pressures of a different kind. I look forward to hearing more about these experiences at the AGM as we start to build our future negotiating strategies to deal with the ‘new normal.’

No time to gloat 

From a campaigning perspective, the announcement of the Government U-turn on the future structure of Probation did much to reverse the sense of despair that had permeated into the profession. This ultimate triumph over a flagship privatisation policy has been heralded as a major achievement by politicians, the media and our sister unions across the TUC. Our members can be proud of their part in a campaign that might just as easily have been entitled: ‘We refused to give up hope.’ 

Since then we have worked hard to conclude negotiations on the terms of transfer for CRC staff to the NPS or a Dynamic Framework Provider. At the time of writing, we are due to present the outcomes of those discussions in a ballot of our CRC members with a firm recommendation that the Staff Transfer and Protections Agreement is the best arrangement that it was possible to secure. 

If this is accepted, then CRC owners should understand that they need to raise their game on paying their staff (who have helped to keep the CRCs afloat) a decent wage prior to their transfer and treating them with the respect and dignity that they deserve. 

Meanwhile we continue to promote our vision of what a future Probation service should look like and there will be many opportunities for members to offer their views on this at AGM and beyond. 

Justice on Pay 

By far the biggest source of anger amongst our NPS membership has been the delay in receiving their expected pay progression. Our reports to the AGM explain more of the detail behind this, and at the time of writing negotiations were due to recommence. I hope that by the time we reach AGM we will have some positive news to share at last. 

Pride in our members 

Across the other sections of Napo, we continue to receive loyal support from our members working in the Probation Board Northern Ireland. It has been a personal privilege to work with our representatives here again as we seek to make a meaningful breakthrough on pay after years of austerity. 

In Cafcass, a revitalised Family Court Section have made great strides in their engagement with the employer and can be proud of the campaigning work 4 that they have been involved in. This has resulted in a successful operational response to the threat of C-19 and has helped to bring pressure to bear on the employer to find much needed additional resources for staffing. As always there is much still to do, but I have been impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism they have shown.

Our wider objectives 

The above is just a snapshot of the work that has gone on to promote and protect the interests of our members across 23 employers. I relish the accountability session at AGM which itself, is taking place in a way that not so long ago would have been thought impossible. Despite the dreadful threats that all of us and our families are facing right now, these are exciting times for Napo as we target a major increase in our membership. We can achieve that with your help and ensure that this union is there for future generations of members. 

Enjoy AGM and please participate whenever you can from wherever you are. 

Ian Lawrence 

General Secretary