For years, Napo has been warning that probation is being pushed to breaking point.
Now, thanks to the government’s early release scheme and the upcoming Sentencing Act, the rest of the country is starting to hear that message too.
Over the past week, Napo has worked hard to ensure the realities of probation are part of the national conversation. As journalists have looked at the impact of releasing more people into an already overstretched probation service, we’ve made sure they understand the pressures our members are already facing—and just how much worse things could become if workloads continue to rise without the staff and resources to match.
This week, General Secretary Ian Lawrence appeared on BBC Radio 4 to discuss the impact the early release scheme will have on probation. Listen to the interview below.
The issue also reached a national television audience when Channel 4 News examined whether probation could safely supervise the additional people being released from prison.
The report directly quoted Napo’s warning:
“The union that represents them, Napo, says despite a promise of £700 million in investment, it cannot guarantee public protection. It says the potential release of thousands of perpetrators of domestic violence who will be eligible for the scheme means that more people, largely women, are likely to be hurt or even killed.”
The programme went on to hear from former probation manager Gavin Lee, who described the service as “shaky”, pointing to high vacancy rates, low morale and the loss of experienced staff before concluding that probation could not safely absorb thousands more releases under current conditions.
This is exactly why Napo has been campaigning so hard on workloads.
The public is listening. Politicians are listening. The media is listening.
Now we need to make sure they keep listening.
As public concern grows, a strong turnout in our workloads ballot will send an unmistakable message to employers and government that probation staff have had enough. National media attention creates the opportunity—but it’s the collective voice of members that creates pressure for change.
Every vote strengthens that message.
If you haven’t already, take part in the workloads ballot and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Together, we can turn national attention into meaningful action.
2 responses
I supported this move.
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.