Probation and family courts staff vote to strike over pay

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 14 Nov, 00:20 · Archive

Probation Service and family courts staff have voted to strike over pay and workloads.

Staff working across the Probation Service and family courts have voted to strike over pay and workloads. Members of the Napo trade union voted 74 per cent in favour of strike action and 85 per cent in favour of action short of strikes on pay. On the issue of workloads, 75 per cent backed strikes and 87 per cent backed other forms of industrial action.

The union launched the ballot after the employer made what it termed an inadequate 5 per cent pay offer and failed to agree on measures to address mounting workloads. Napo noted that probation salaries have stagnated since 2010, with reception staff paid just above the minimum wage – the lowest paid in the civil service.

Ian Lawrence, Napo's general secretary, said the results vindicated the campaign for a pay rise to recover lost ground compared to other staff employed within the Prison and Probation Service. He stated: 'Workloads are in a chronic state, with Napo members undertaking thousands of hours of unpaid overtime just to stay on top of the demands placed upon them.'

Concerns about staff capacity have worsened following the introduction of the Government's early prisoner release scheme to reduce overcrowding in prisons. The union said workloads were already in crisis before the latest version of this scheme.

Napo officials confirmed that arrangements are being developed to launch strike action at a later stage.

How it is being reported

• Probation staff vote for strike action in 'serious anger' over pay and workloadsProbation and family courts staff have voted in favour of strike action over pay and workloads.Sky News · 13 Nov, 18:23
• Probation and family courts staff vote to strike over pay and workloadsStrike action is set to be launched at a later date following Friday’s voteThe Independent · 13 Nov, 17:57
• Probation Service staff and family courts have voted to strike over pay and workloadsProbation Service staff and family courts have voted to strike over pay and workloads, their union has confirmed.Daily Mail · 13 Nov, 17:44

In this story: Napo · Ian Lawrence · Prison and Probation Service

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