Adam Harmsworth, Napo vice-chair, personal capacity
The AGM of probation and family courts trade union Napo began on 16 October, weeks after a ballot of probation members clearly in favour of industrial action over pay was sabotaged by the Tories’ anti-union voting thresholds – still on the books despite being over a year into a Labour government.
The probation unions still haven’t received a pay offer despite submitting a claim ten months ago, while members are battling horrendously high workloads, an epidemic of work-related stress and health issues, and report a culture of bullying engrained in the Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
These growing issues defined the 2025 AGM. The activists who attended AGM seriously discussed the problems in probation and wider political issues. Health, safety, and stress were top of the agenda in motions. A motion to get probation out of HMPPS received cheers from attendees, two contrasting views on use of AI software in probation provoked debate, as did discussion on how our movement confronts the far right. Napo members in Cafcass (family courts) brought motions on abysmal employee relations practices, rising workloads, and poorly planned practice changes.
Motion on political representation
Cafcass members also proposed Motion 21: ‘Enough is Enough – We Need New Political Representation’. It called for Napo to play a part in fighting for a new working-class party, including inviting Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana and pro-worker MPs to discuss with the National Executive Committee.
A ‘Napo For A New Party’ meeting was held on Thursday evening. This meeting discussed developments in Your Party, and the role Napo and the trade union movement could play in campaigning for Your Party to be the vehicle for change workers desperately need. Discussion also reflected fears about the threat from right-populist Reform, and how the actions of the Labour government had only bred support for Reform.
On Friday afternoon Motion 21 was debated, without a word throughout the debate in defence of Labour’s atrocious actions in government. Much of the argument against was focused on fears regarding Napo’s position in the civil service and historic neutrality to all political parties. Unfortunately the motion was lost, but 37% of AGM were convinced of the need for Napo to make that historic step to help build a new party for the working class.
Napo AGM had the Liberal Democrat MP and justice spokesperson Josh Babarinde speaking – yet the LibDems were part of the 2010-15 coalition government with the Tories that introduced the savage austerity and disastrous privatisation which probation and the family courts are suffering from. This illustrates why we will be better served with political representatives which we and other trade unionists can control and hold to account, rather than hoping for support from unreliable ‘friends’.
The issues that Motion 21 raised will inevitably come up again, as the Labour government goes further in trying to make us pay for capitalism’s long-term crisis.
Napo is already preparing for a ballot in probation when a pay offer is eventually received, and continues to campaign on the disastrous under-funding and mismanagement of the service. But without pushing for working-class political representation in the increasingly turbulent period ahead, the union will be fighting with one hand behind its back.
