Leadership!

I note Napo's Acting Chair has written to all members and takes the helm at a testing time to put it mildly. It's all well and good to stress the democratic nature of the union, but I suspect what the membership is really in need of is effective and visible leadership. Very regular and meaningful communication and a visible presence. Where is the case being made to be out of HMPPS - not cosying-up to a toxic employer.          

Festive Greetings From Napo

Ben Cockburn Acting National Chair writes:

As ever, 2023 has seen our members make incredible efforts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to have a real, positive impact on our communities, in particular the individuals and families we work with. What we do is often not well recognised by the wider public, though our efforts as a trade union to change this have seen more progress on this in recent years, but the jobs we do remain some of the most meaningful there are.

Over the last year Napo has been active in representing our members in Cafcass, Probation and Probation Board Northern Ireland, individually and collectively, from a local to a national level. In our meetings with Government ministers, senior civil servants or management at a national or regional level, we have continued to promote the issues and concerns that our members tell us are of the greatest important to them, for example the crushing demands of excessive workloads or the ongoing cost of living crisis. We have seen some important successes, as well as some disappointments despite our best efforts. Going into 2024 we fully recognise the need for further work to secure the best for all our members, and that the work the union does must intensify with the high likelihood of a General Election in the next 12 months.

Stronger together

As with any trade union we are at our best and strongest as a collective. Recent years have seen, in the face of growing inequality in our society and the attacks working people have faced by those who have political power, an increasing recognition of the importance of the trade union movement in combating the worst excesses we have experienced. The recruitment of new members remains a priority for Napo and we continue to work on our efforts in this regard as well as remaining open to any suggestions from members on how we can improve. In addition, we continue to need activists and representatives in many Branches and in the wider operation of Napo at a national level. All of us have something to offer the union, and we are more effective as a union for each of our greater involvement in fighting for our goals, so if you have the capacity to do more we’d welcome whatever you can contribute.

It’s your union

Napo is a trade union and professional association that is led and directed by its membership, not controlled from above as is the case with our employers. A great example of this is in our annual Operational Plan where members, through agreed strategic aims and the results of motions debated at our Annual General Meeting, review the work of Napo over the previous 12 months and set the course of the work of Napo for the coming year. You can find a copy of the current Plan via this link – Napo Operational Plan 2024 – and mailouts to be sent in the months prior to next year’s AGM will update members on how they can submit motions for debate to be a part of next year’s Operational Plan and attend AGM itself, either in person or virtually.

Hope ahead

Finally, it’s becoming more difficult to find descriptions for the past year that aren’t variations on "difficult" or "challenging" that have been used in similar mailouts as these going back a decade or more. That said, there is cause for optimism in the new year that can only be further strengthened by us maintaining a strong and proud collective voice, direction and action. The Napo Officers and HQ team want to wish all members happiness over the festive season, with a peaceful period for those of us working during this time and a restful time for those of us who are not.

--oo00oo--

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/652014