Direct Debit - Have you switched?
Members will be aware that the Ministry of Justice is officially ending Check-Off for NPS staff at the end of September. Napo is now all set to go with the Direct Debit Switch Campaign. Direct Debit forms can be downloaded from the Napo website – CLICK HERE. It’s vital that all our NPS members make the switch as soon as possible to ensure that they have the protection of the union; and Napo, despite this vicious attack on our union, remains a strong membership led organisation. Branches are currently looking for volunteers to become DD Champions, who will take a lead on this campaign, be a contact link with Napo head office and monitor how many members have switched. If you’re interested in becoming a DD Champion contact you Branch Executive as soon as possible. If you’ve already made the switch, see if you can sign up one of your colleagues.
End Austerity Now! Napo joins People’s Assembly Rally 20th June
Although not widely covered in the press, no surprises there, 20th June saw hundreds of thousands of people head to Parliament Square to protest against austerity. The Napo Block was well attended. Photos and reports from members will be posted on Napo News Online
Sodexo
Ian Lawrence, Napo General Secretary, is meeting with Francis Stuart the MoJ Head of Employer Relations to discuss the current Sodexo redundancy proposals, under the remit of the NNC Joint Secretaries. Two branches have registered formal disputes with their CRCs over the proposal not to honour the EVR scheme written into the staff transfer agreement. Negotiations have so far been fractious at times but also useful in terms of the unions getting a better understanding of Sodexo’s position and what intervention the MoJ may make. Regular updates will be given to members either via circulars or Ian Lawrence’s blog on the website.
Northern Ireland
Following a visit to the Northern Ireland Branch by Yvonne Pattison, National Co Chair, and Ranjit Singh and Tania Bassett, National Officials, Napo is drawing up a political campaign strategy to help defend Probation Northern Ireland from significant budget cuts. A full report can be found in the next Napo news and will be posted on Napo News Online. The campaign will focus on local lobbying of Assembly Members and MPs of all parties to gain support for the vital and cost effective work done by PBNI. The Branch also has a number of internal issues that they are successfully challenging including recruitment strategies. Whilst a number of staff are currently on fixed term contracts the Board had sought to recruit a new Board Secretary on a permanent basis. The Branch had strongly challenged this stating that it sent out the wrong message to staff who are currently waiting news to see if their own contracts will be extended past August. Thanks to the hard work of the Branch Executive however, this latest vacancy has now been advertised as a fixed term contract post - a small victory for Napo and a positive sign that PBNI is willing to engage with their staff and the unions.
Campaigning over the Summer
Napo members have raised the issue of workloads in Probation since the split and contract mobilisation. As such Napo will be running a campaign to highlight not just high numbers of cases but also inappropriate allocation of complex cases. We will be sending out a circular shortly with a few questions on workloads for members to complete. This information is vital if we are to highlight the flaws in the new model, unsafe operating models of private providers and the strain that the NPS is under.
AGM 2015 – Defending Professional Values
This years AGM at Eastbourne promises to be an exciting event and it is the first time members across Napo can get together since the General Election. There are a huge numbers of issues facing all our members whether it be the problems of home working and isolation in the FCS, budget cuts in Northern Ireland or workloads and job insecurity in the CRCs and NPS. AGM is your chance to have your say on Napo’s policy and priorities so make sure you register and don’t forget to send in your motions for debate. We also have a fantastic line up of guest speakers, panellists and fringe meetings covering a wide range of topics. There will be evening entertainment on Thursday and Friday night so members have chance to catch up with colleagues and let their hair down. The full programme will be out later in the summer. Register online now at www.napo.org.uk or contact Kath Falcon kfalcon@napo.org.uk for a registration form.