National Chair Ben Cockburn and General Secretary Ian Lawrence unveiled the timetable to hundreds of probation members at yesterday’s all-member meeting.
The ballot will open on Monday 19 October and close at noon on Friday 13 November.
This is a direct response to the employer repeatedly failing to meet key commitments and deadlines on pay and workloads.
You have been patient. We have negotiated, waited and given the employer every opportunity to deliver meaningful change. But patience has its limits.
Napo is still ready to negotiate
Setting a ballot date does not mean negotiations are over. Napo remains ready to talk if ministers and HMPPS are serious about delivering change.
But we need them to know that we are prepared to take this fight all the way if they continue to stall.
At yesterday’s meeting, members spoke about the continuing disrespect of delayed CBF payments, workloads that are rocketing beyond what can reasonably be expected, and pay that has fallen so far behind that some members are taking on second jobs or working overtime just to make ends meet.
This is not a standard that any trade union can endorse.
And while ministers and HMPPS continue to work out how to build a probation service capable of absorbing the pressures of early release and sentencing changes – and what it will actually take to attract and retain staff – our members have already made their position known.
When we asked whether members would be prepared to take industrial action to force change, 90% of those who voted said yes.
At this week’s TUC Congress, senior government figures spoke about the need to make serious improvements to our public services. Probation is a vital public service. The Government now has an opportunity to turn those words into action.
If it chooses not to, it should be in no doubt about what comes next.
What you need to do now
Subject to the expected constitutional amendment being agreed at AGM in October, Napo intends to conduct the formal ballot electronically – the first formal e-ballot in Napo’s history – using our ballot provider, Civica CES.
There are some important things you can do now:
Make sure we have your personal email and mobile number. It is a legal requirement that formal ballot information is sent to your personal email address. If we do not have it, you will not be able to vote.
We are also looking for Ballot champions, campaign champions and people who are prepared to join focus groups.
And, most importantly, stay engaged. Keep an eye on Napo communications, attend your local branch, take part in national meetings and attend AGM
The fight isn’t over
The ballot timetable is set. But the fight is not over.
So far, the employer has not put forward anything meaningful that would lead us to step back from preparing for industrial action.
We will always be willing to discuss solutions that are genuinely in the best interests of our members, the probation service and public safety.
But our members are demanding more than another round of discussions.
You need action.
You want decent pay, manageable workloads and a probation service that is properly staffed and resourced.
And you have already shown you are prepared to stand together to make that happen.
The ball is in the employer’s court.
But with this ballot, the power is in your hands.
2 responses
NAPO. Why is it accepted to see no progression for workers at the top of the pay scale? Workers who have been with the service a long long time and worked through the hardship of the last 20 years plus. Do we not deserve to get an extra 4/5% on top of our salary?
So in theory those not at the top of their scales can see an uplift which is quite attractive but 5% for a band 2/3 at the top is quite frankly atrocious. What it says is that there is no loyalty to those workers who are still with the service 20 years onwards. It’s a disgrace. That amount will only reduce because the employer is losing the committed long term workers due to the poor wage hence why i think there ones at the top of pay scale are forgotten about.
Why is no one fighting for that? I pay over £20 a month for NAPO and I as well as a few of my colleagues I work with feel forgotten about. We are struggling to live and pay bills yet because we have worked here the longest we don’t get an increase. Band 3 is just over 33,000? For long hours, stress, commitment and dedication to our job.
Do people really think that’s an acceptable wage for the amount of work that we do and the dedication we put in. I feel so under valued and upset by this. I may as well go and work in a supermarket.
5% is an embarrassment, its an insult and does not help in the current cost of living crisis for people on the lower bands.
Hi There, as you will have read in the article, we have not accepted the offer and are asking members to take industrial action. If you are a Napo member you will have received a link to a meeting taking place today and we suggest you attend so you can be brought up to speed.