Ian Lawrence and Ben Cockburn report…..
Napo members will understandably be disappointed that despite several days of probation pay negotiations spanning May and June, we have yet to receive a formal pay offer from the employer.
This is a further illustration of just how difficult it has been to make satisfactory progress on the joint unions 2025 pay claim in the face of restrictive pay policies across the Treasury and Cabinet Office, and an absence of available funding within HMPPS. At a recent meeting of Napo’s Probation Negotiating Committee, it was concluded that the progress so far did not represent anything that would be acceptable to our members. Therefore, a request was subsequently made for a high-level meeting with Government Ministers.
Today, the negotiators from the Probation Trade Unions met with Minister of State for Probation and Prisons Lord James Timpson. Here we explained our position following the pay negotiations in detail, and expressed our frustration that it has not yet been possible to make meaningful progress towards a recommendable offer.
We robustly made the case that we now need political intervention in order that the parties can return to negotiations with a view to reaching a formal pay offer for 2025 that we are able to recommend to our respective members. Such discussions must include recognition that probation staff deserve to be treated exceptionally to reflect the pressures they have faced in carrying out government policies, and the fact that pay rates have fallen to unacceptable levels.
Clearly there will need to be discussions between Lord Timpson and his Ministerial colleagues, and as soon as the position becomes clear as to the prospects for further negotiations, we will update members accordingly.
Preparations for campaigning.
Meanwhile, and as you would expect, the Probation Unions are building the various components of a pay campaign which, if no further progress can be made, would include a ballot for industrial action.
The video below spells out the key objectives of our pay claim, and if an industrial campaign becomes necessary in support of it, this will require full backing from our members.
15 responses
There is no correlation of pay or respect for Probation Staff who are always at the behest of changes in government and policy, which directly has an impact on staff. We need a fair pay deal, and this should not have to be a constant battle with the treasury. In all my years, the probation service is at crisis point, and they expect more and more from demoralised staff who are severely overworked, with no support or financial reward. One HMPPS does not include the probation service a cursory nod, but that is it. Action needs to be taken and before September when the new FTR protocols are in place. Enough is enough.
I hope members vote to strike should we not get a positive outcome.
are we going to get added to the prison service pay review body, now we’re one HMPPS?
One HMPPS had the opportunity to do that, and didn’t.
We need industrial action especially given the new recall changes and more prison releases. We don’t need to vote on whether we MIGHT strike. We need to do it now.
Probation has had a successive if not nominal pay increase for a number of years, each one less than the rate of inflation which means that like the doctors our real term income has dropped substantially and yet the expectation is for a gold standard service to be delivered. This government along with any future governments must start to realise that a professional service demands an commensurate pay and that had we had pay increases over the last 14 years that were equivalent to MP salary increases we would not be in the position we are now and we would have retained staff to the service.
There was a huge missed opportunity to apply pressure and press our case at the time of the 2 initial SDS40 tranches of release last year, whereby we should have been striking on those days and maybe we wouldn’t be in this position now!
Unions please get the ballot to strike out and we all walk out at the FTR48 release dates. Don’t miss a golden opportunity like this again. How much more chaos do ALL Probation staff have to deal with, without being adequately paid for the sheer volume of work and risk we manage on a daily basis?!! Failure to remunerate accordingly will only lead to more staff leaving. It’s not just prisons in crisis, it’s Probation too!
How much more can the probation service take on as a result of the prison capacity crisis? The Probation Service crisis receives far less media attention and public support than the prison service and that has been the situation for as many years as I have worked in probation (and that is almost 40 years) Our “probation sponges” are more than dripping – the impact is akin to a vast ocean of disillusionment, stress related ill-health and huge impacts on not only probation staff but their families and friends. This is NOY a few “water droplets” of “discontent” nor is it likely to pass. What about the Probation Service Crisis – it does not feel like we are “one HMPPS” – we have always been the poor relations. How much more can we take?
It is an utter joke that we are allegedly ‘appreciated’ and our work is crucial, however the government STILL do NOT want to pay us properly. I am hearing from members that they would be better off on benefits than working full time in their job. Other members literally cannot afford anything as a ‘treat’ of some kind for themselves or their children. This is demoralising. Once the bills are paid there is just enough for food and the necessities but nothing for holidays. One of them, living in Cambridge has had their rent increased by £8k over the last 5 years… their pay does not cover the cost of living increases. Pushing staff into poverty! This is not on… please pay our staff properly and if not, WE NEED INDUSTRIAL ACTION!!!! Surely everyone is fed up with the mockery of our pay! I would like to be able to take my children on holiday one day but can’t do it with the pay we are on.
I have been at the top of my band for 14-15 years. My pay has increased by approx £6500 in that time. Shocking…
The interminable drag out of pay negotiations is wearing for all members of staff and has been a feature of pay in public services for too long. That said, given the poor relationship between current pay and the levels of say 15 years ago (unlike the government and opposition MPs) are members willing to strike and lose the pay that goes with it? A question that each member must look at and make a decision for themselves.
As a query, how many staff in the Probation Service are not members of a union? This may also have an influence on whether a strike will be effective.
Yes, enough is enough
Can I please ask, will any pay rise apply to those on the top of their scale? If indeed we get a pay rise…
We must take the opportunity to strike our pay is national minimum pay for a professional body like ours should be paying at least £60k a year with the work and responsibilities increasing, the pressures we deal with daily. Pay is simply not enough, the service runs on good will. But probation needs to show, we deserve more and strike is the only way. 12% increase is too little.
Good morning are they any updates coming to us soon? It’s so frustrating as we will nearly be in August, and they are continuing to stall over our pay. It’s shocking behaviour.
We continue to be professional in our roles and we expect to all be treated fairly under HMPPS.
Will a work to rule also feature? With case loads often exceeding 100% on the WMT it would be quite simple to refuse future case allocations and the system would soon face collapse if the issues weren’t addressed. Without sentence management functioning the whole justice system doesn’t work. We need to be more visible to the media as well.