Probation officers protest against privatisation


Chas Berry, Kent Napo member

Around 180 National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) members from across England and wales attended a mass lobby of parliament last week against plans to privatise the probation service.

At a packed rally, speakers from every region gave shocking accounts of the chaos and disintegration that has gripped the service since it was split in two earlier this summer in preparation for the sell off later this year.

Spiralling caseloads and lost files have become the norm, placing public safety and staff health at significant risk.

Over the summer the national press reported at least one death of a female victim of domestic violence that could arguably have been prevented if the service had not been in turmoil, and the suicide of a probation worker in Kent where the impact of the changes may have been a contributing factor.

No confidence

No wonder that a recent survey of 1,000 Napo members showed that over half are actively looking for other jobs and that 98% have no confidence in Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.

The rally was addressed by a number of MPs, including Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan who said: “I will do everything within my power to disentangle these ten year contracts should I find myself in a position to do so.” Hardly a commitment to tear up the contracts and bring the service back into public ownership!

Napo general secretary Ian Lawrence neatly responded that we want more, and he reminded members that it was the last Labour government that had passed the law in 2007 that makes privatisation of probation possible.

The bottom line is we cannot rely on the major political parties, all of which are backed by big business, to represent our interests. To defeat privatisation we have to look to our own strength as workers and professionals and join with others in struggle.

Joining other unions

Unison, Unite and GMB unions are all engaged in a pay dispute and are set to take strike action together on 14 October. We can and should be discussing how we can link our campaigns together and use our AGM in October to re-launch our own dispute.

Napo should also consider using its political fund to back candidates who pledge to fight all cuts like those in the Trade Unionists and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)

Staff are under enormous pressure, and maintaining service delivery at this this critical time while other public services are being cut is putting an unbearable strain on many. We cannot, however, allow those that divide us to crush our fighting spirit. We must remain united in our determination to succeed.


This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 10 September 2014 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.