Building belief that Napo's view matters

Wednesday evenings trip to Southampton and the members of Hampshire and Isle of Wight, was as good a benchmark as any of the current issues that are impacting on our members in the NPS and CRC's.

 

It also demonstrated yet again just how important our local activists are to the life of our union and professional association, as they go about the task of representing members interests with local employers, assisting individuals and keeping in touch with the centre so that Napo Officers and Officials are well informed when we get to engage in negotiations with senior NOMS or CRC management.

 

Yes, you can

 

The difficulty that all trade unions face, (with the exception of a few where the direct industrial route has prospered) is the innate belief among their membership that their union can't make a difference to the problems they face.

 

This breeds negativity which unscrupulous employers will seek to exploit. That's why even occasional attendance at  a branch or workplace meeting can provide a safe environment for our members to talk safely about the difficulties they face and how they think the union can help. The many issues that I get to hear about on my travels can include excessive workloads, wider as well as personal health, safety and welfare considerations and, especially important this for Napo members, professional issues.

 

Other subjects that featured at Southampton, as they have at the countless members meetings I have attended over the years, were the effects of estate changes (actual or proposed) which members there, in common with those experienced by others elsewhere, have seen compounded by the impact of TR, and how these raise fears about client supervision and community safety.

 

This weeks straightforward message is that your views count; but to make them count even more, Napo needs you to direct your elected leaders and employees to pursue strategies that you think we should be pursuing. Better still, it might mean turning that anger you feel about your  situation into positive energy.

 

The history of the movement shows that even the smallest local campaign can form the nucleus of something bigger, and that employers can be called to account once members start to build confidence by sharing problems and demanding union intervention at a senior level where necessary.

 

It could be about the impact of short format reports on sentences handed down by the local judiciary, being asked to transport clients in your cars, or interviewing them in the upstairs rooms of a pub (don't get me started) or it could be about appalling examples of ham fisted communications from above which are an insult to the members concerned. Some of the best examples of local campaigns that I have been involved in elsewhere have included lobbying to retain a workplace as opposed to it being closed, specially relevant with E3 and CRC restructuring ('keep probation local') and how members can pressure MP's and councillors to get onside.

 

Get active!

 

For these types of campaigning activity to be more effective, we need to rebuild and maintain confidence that all of the work we do for our members in the 24 employers that we cover makes a difference. That difference might sometimes be of major importance; but as is the case in life in general, successes often come in small steps.

 

That's another reason for our members to consider taking part in the local and national democratic structures of their union. So why not consider standing for branch or national office? Either role is often thankless, but its value to the life of Napo and the well being of our members (and our future) are inestimable.

 

That these structures have endured pretty much in the same form for the entirety of our history says much about the hard work and commitment of those who built them, as well as those who have served our members through them, for over 100 years. Its an impressive achievement that Napo and its members can rightly be proud of.