Why are you receiving this communication?
As explained in the mail out that we sent you last Friday (17th May), Napo is launching a consultative ballot to all of our members working in Probation (England and Wales). We are doing so on the basis of the refusal of the Probation Service to re-open the current 3 year pay award and the inadequate progress to address the current workload crisis.
What are we asking you to do?
- In view of the above your union is asking you to indicate whether you would be prepared to take future action which may include industrial action, to put pressure on the Probation Service to enter into pay negotiations and to take immediate steps to offer some relief from the chaotic workloads being faced by staff at all grades. This consultative exercise is not a formal ballot for such a step, and any action in the future would be determined in consultation with your National Executive Committee (NEC) and would follow a formal postal ballot of all full members at a later date. UNISON and GMB/SCOOP are also consulting with their members.
Why are we in this situation?
Around a year ago, the three probation unions, including UNISON and GMB/SCOOP, submitted a claim to re-open the current 3-year pay award to secure more pay for you and your colleagues. We did this in response to the worsening cost of living crisis. In April this year, HMPPS finally confirmed that it was refusing to re-open the pay award. Since then, we have seen even more pressure heaped on our members because of this Government’s mismanagement of the criminal justice system, for example the dangerous and flawed End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme. Moreover, there has been no recognition of this by Ministers while huge amounts of money can be found for the Prison estate. Just this week we have seen figures showing the disparity in the numbers of staff employed in the prison system compared to Probation.
This, along with the number of disputes that have already been lodged with the employer by the unions (for example on the implementation of the ‘One HMPPS’ project), along with the lack of meaningful progress on the ‘Probation Reset’ plans, are the key reasons for us being in this position. It is the union’s belief that workload relief, in some form, must be extended to all Probation Service staff and not only restricted to one function or a limited group of staff. Accordingly, Napo were party to a joint submission to HMPPS (see JTUS 12) which set out a series of measures that we believe were both realistic and effective, though at this point no progress has been made on these proposals.
What do I need to do next?
- For security reasons you must be registered on the Napo website to take part in the consultative ballot, as the ballot will only be accessible if you are logged in to the website. If you have not already registered on the Napo website then please do so here. You will need your membership number which has been sent directly to members.
- It’s vitally important that in addition to taking part in the consultative ballot that our membership database accurately includes your Job Title and Workplace address. Many members have assisted us already by checking their details online and submitting these to our membership section. It only takes a couple of minutes, and you can easily do this by logging into the Napo website here and then choosing the “Edit Profile” option.
- Or you can also ensure we have your up-to-date work details by sending an email from your work email address to membership@napo.org.uk, confirming that the details in your email signature are current. If you use Probation Practitioner in your email signature, please identify whether you are a PO or PSO in your email.
How to vote
You will be able to access the consultative ballot question via a digital voting link here https://www.napo.org.uk/enough-is-enough-ballot . Please do not under any circumstances forward the voting e-mail, or link, to other Napo members or non-members.
The question will ask:
‘In view of the trade dispute submitted on behalf of Napo members to HMPPS on pay and workloads, I would be prepared to consider action and possible industrial action in furtherance of Napo’s objectives.’
*Please note this is not a ballot for action or industrial action of any kind. Such developments would only follow from a second statutory ballot should a decision be taken by the National Executive Committee to proceed to this stage.
There will also be some on-line meetings for Napo members during the consultative ballot, please see below for details. Please also look out for further information once the ballot has opened and try to attend one of these events. Also, please encourage any colleagues who are not yet in a union to join Napo.
The ballot will open on Thursday 23rd May and close at Noon on Monday 24th June so please do all you can to vote and encourage other members to do the same.
Important upcoming dates to note:
Napo Membership Secretaries’ meeting:
Thursday 30th May 12noon to 12.30pm separate link to follow
Meeting 1 – for members only:
Thursday 30th May 12.30pm to 13.30pm
The following two meetings will be open to members and non-members; please encourage colleagues to attend, whether they are members or not, but remember to vote in the consultative ballot they will need to join Napo (https://www.napo.org.uk/content/join-us).
Meeting 2
Friday 3rd June 1-2pm
Meeting 3
Wednesday 12th June – 12.30 – 13.30pm
Meeting 4 – for members only:
Tuesday 18th June – 1-2pm
The links for these meetings can be found here: https://www.napo.org.uk/consultative-ballot-meeting-links
Further information about the ballot will be made available via Branch Membership Secretaries once the ballot has opened for any members who may not have received the e-mail with the voting link.
Please read the included documentation carefully and vote ‘Yes’ to the question.
Ian Lawrence - General Secretary Ben Cockburn - Acting National Chair