Adam Harmsworth, National Vice-Chair, personal capacity
Napo AGM on 16-18 October comes shortly after a hard-fought ballot on probation pay and funding.
90% voted to strike and 97% for action short of strike. Probation workers have been left struggling and even impoverished by years of below-inflation pay rises. In return, they face unmanageable caseloads, with leaked figures showing sentence management alone has less than half the staff needed. Work-related stress is rising across the probation workforce.
The Rademaker Report released in May has proven what Napo reps have been saying for years: that bullying, harassment, discrimination, and victimisation are rampant throughout HM Prison and Probation Service.
Across probation and Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), years of government cuts have left services struggling to meet basic needs. This is set to only continue under Keir Starmer’s Labour.
Turnout thresholds
The ballot delivered a decisive result for strike action, but was defeated by the 50% turnout threshold required by the Tories’ 2016 anti-union law. The Labour government still has not repealed this, despite its promise to do so. It will be important at this AGM and beyond to debate how we can smash that threshold, and that we continue to demand its immediate repeal.
In Cafcass, Napo reps are hearing more and more concerns about soaring workloads and overworking. This, alongside uncompetitive pay, is leading more social work practitioners to leave the service.
Nothing will improve without a serious industrial and political fightback. With all the main parties now singing from the same hymn sheet, it is up to the trade unions to fight back. Napo must continue to fight to restore decent funding and pay to probation and Cafcass, and put pressure on the TUC to implement the agreement from its congress this year, to call a national trade union-led demo against Labour austerity.
New workers’ party
The Socialist Party believes the trade unions must play a leading role in building a new political voice for the working class. Napo AGM provides an opportunity to debate that. Motion 21 from the Family Court Section, titled ‘Enough is Enough – We Need New Political Representation’, includes important steps for Napo to invite Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana to discuss with the NEC, and to link together with trade unions who want to see a new vehicle of the working class built. We urge all Napo members to go to AGM in person or online and vote for this important motion (see Napo members fighting in their union for a new party at socialistparty.org.uk).
- During AGM, there will be a ‘Napo For A New Party’ meeting: Thursday 16 October 6:30pm at The Devonshire Club, Hartington Place, Eastbourne, BN21 3BN
