Job Cuts announced by Purple Futures today

Here is the Joint communique issued by Napo and Unison this afternoon in response to the announcements of intended staff reductions across the Purple Futures CRC's.

As you would expect Napo has incorporated this depressing news into a comprehensive briefing ahead of next Wednesday's Oppositiion day debate on Prisons and Probation in Parliament.

CRC RESTRUCTURING AND JOB LOSSES

Napo and UNISON are working together to protect the interests of our members working for the five Purple Futures CRCs. We understand that members will be very worried about the plans announced today by Purple Futures to restructure their five CRCs and the potential for redundancies in the process.

Our aim is to protect as many jobs as we can and ensure that the restructuring process is carried out fairly, but we recognise that some job losses are likely to happen in the end. Staff who are eventually made redundant must be offered the enhanced voluntary redundancy (EVR) terms agreed in the National Negotiating Council (NNC) Staff Transfer and Protections Agreement.

NAPO AND UNISON PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS

In order to protect your interests we have:

• Agreed to work with Purple Futures at national level to ensure consistency of approach to the restructuring and the redundancy programme
• Set up a Cross CRC Forum at which national union reps come together with senior Purple Futures management to agree:
• Are working at the Forum to agree:
  • An Organisational Change Policy and Procedure
  • Trade Union Facilities to allow us to properly represent members in the restructuring/redundancy process
  • That redundancy pay is in line with the enhanced voluntary redundancy (EVR) terms from the national Agreement on Staff Transfers and Protections
• Set up good communications with Purple Futures at national level to enable us to feedback any problems or issues that arise in the restructuring/redundancy process
• Sat on job evaluation panels to set the pay for new jobs to be introduced by Purple Futures

Napo and UNISON know that you and your colleagues are already extremely busy. We are concerned about the impact of the restructure and redundancies on workloads in the new organisation and will be raising this with Purple Futures at future meetings.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

Here is what we think will happen next:

• Purple Futures and the unions to agree the Organisational Change Policy and Procedure which will govern the restructuring/redundancy process. We still have a few issues to clarify, but we are pleased that Purple Futures has worked positively with us to agree a fair and transparent policy which all staff can read and understand.
• Purple Futures to open consultation with the unions and staff on the restructuring/redundancy process. This is your opportunity to tell your union what you think about the proposals and how we should respond.  If you feel that the proposals are unworkable, or unsafe, in your CRC please speak up.
• Unions to formally respond to the proposals, with ideas/suggestions from members in each CRC
• Unions to support members through the mapping and matching process which will allocate staff to jobs in the new structures. You will have a chance to appeal your outcome if you are not happy.
• Unions to formally agree the terms of the voluntary exit scheme which Purple Futures has said it will set up for staff who are redundant at the end of the process. Purple Futures has said that, ‘...subject to the actual cost of final leavers...’, it will ‘...offer an enhancement to statutory redundancy terms – equivalent to the enhanced voluntary redundancy scheme offered by the MOJ last year.’ Both unions are very clear that this means that the terms of the National Negotiating Council (NNC) enhanced voluntary redundancy (EVR)scheme should apply to all staff facing redundancy

HLNY AND WEST YORKSHIRE

Both unions recognise that members in HLNY and West Yorkshire CRCs will be angry and concerned at the apparent disproportionate impact of the proposed job cuts in your CRCs. Clearly this is an issue which will be discussed in a lot more detail once formal consultation opens on the restructuring and the redundancy programme, but Napo and UNISON give you our commitment to work with you to challenge disproportionate cuts and mitigate their impact in your CRCs.

STAFF ON FIXED TERM CONTRACTS

The unions are in discussion with Purple Futures over the company’s approach to members on fixed term contracts, because the company has suggested that this might be different from the approach to permanent staff. The unions are taking legal advice on this.

Until we have had further talks with Purple Futures on this issue, members who are on fixed term contracts are advised to make themselves known to their local union representative and await further information from their union. Members on fixed term contracts should not enter into discussion with their CRC on any matters relating to the restructuring/redundancy process until you have received further advice from your union.

FINALLY

We know that the next few weeks and months are going to be extremely stressful for you and your colleagues, but please remember you are not alone. If you have any questions, please contact your local Napo or UNISON representative. At national level we will continue to work with Purple Futures to get the best possible outcomes for all our membersMore to follow on this and other developments elsewhere later this week as preparations are made to engage with our members in the CRC's.

More on this depressing news and other developments elsewhere will follow later this week as preparations are made to engage with our members in the CRC's.