Here is Ian Lawrence's address to the recent AGM in full
A warm welcome to all of you, our visitors, partner providers and guests,
Firstly my thanks to you all for rallying to the call albeit in these straitened times for Napo, and I want to express huge appreciation to our Branch activists (the face of Napo at the workplace) for the efforts you make to support this union and its membership which is critical to what we are about and the work that we undertake across the 24 employers that we now deal with.
Last year I used the inspirational words of Will Thorne as the call for us to move forward with determination in the face of the many challenges before us. But this year I want to start by asking you to remember and celebrate the life of Jo Cox MP, a young woman whose life was so tragically and brutally cut short in an act of obscene hatred as she went about her daily work of trying to help her constituents. In a year when we celebrated the tremendous achievements of her fore sisters in the form of the suffragette movement, how poignant it is to reflect on one of Jo's most telling but by now famous beliefs as we again gather together to set our own priorities which is ‘to remember that we have more in common than that which divides us.'
Jo Cox would have been proud of Mary Macarthur, one of the universal suffragettes, who said in 1908:
‘Knowledge is power, Organisation is power. Knowledge and Organisation mean the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Knowledge and organisation mean the opening of the cage door’. Let’s all bear that in mind as we look to the future together.
But first some family news, and an eighth grandchild has arrived since last AGM; William joined us last October and yes he is already paying his Napo subs by Direct Debit (we kind of need the money yeah?). All families are important of course and so is our Napo family; and in the uncertain political and economic times that we live families throughout Britain still need the strength and protection of trade unions as they go about their daily lives.
Speaking of family members Mike McClelland retired this year after an illustrious and massive contribution to Napo and its members spanning over 30 years, and you’ll have an opportunity to record your appreciation later today when Mike and Sally join us;
So, as always there is a lot for us to reflect on. But let me begin with a challenge for anyone here to find me a time in Napo's history when we have had to face the type of problems that have beset us all since the end of 2012.
First and irrespective of the issues involved, we suffered serious reputational damage following the ET involving two former employees; this was followed by the launch of Graylings blueprint for his disastrous TR programme that threatened to totally destroy the probation profession and the very existence of this proud and tenacious union.
Yes we have had setbacks over those 4 years but nevertheless, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and continued doing what we have always done, putting the interests of our members first and yesterday’s events in what was a pulsating days business tell me that we are back on track.
We have also had to deal with the aftermath of the pernicious decision to end Check Off / where Graylings systemic attack on Napo, which was waged in the full knowledge that we alone posed the biggest threat to his ambitions, was designed to destroy us financially. That he has failed to do so is down to the stewardship of your previous and current Officer Group and Theresa Boorman and the hard work of your Chivalry Road employees in attaining a 75% DD sign up across the NPS membership. That’s respectable under the circumstances but there is obviously more to be done by us all as we move into phase two of our engagement strategy. The message must be it’s time to come back to Napo!
The majority of our members have stood united together in a time of adversity and if we are to survive and prosper again we must step up in our campaign to defend the professional values and standards of all our members across the NPS, the 21 CRC's, Cafcass and Probation Northern Ireland. And the most effective strategy that we must and will deploy is to rebuild the concept of workplace trade unionism where our members can gain the confidence from each other to maintain and strengthen Napo as the true voice of your profession, and where needs be the voice of opposition.
Opposition to those CRC owners who, having been sold 100 crates of moonshine by that travelling medicine man Grayling, are now scampering back whinging to their paymasters at the MoJ crying foul and threatening even more job cuts on top of those that they have already or are seeking to implement
Opposition to the disgraceful notion that the interests of CRC shareholders and asset strippers like Aurelius come first while the livelihoods of our members such as those in the Working Links CRC’s (with whom the probation unions are in dispute over their ridiculous plans to shed 38% of the workforce and shortchange them over enhanced voluntary redundancy) are put a distant second. Let this AGM send a loud and clear message of support to all those trade union members engaged in that struggle. Next week sees a critical meeting of the NNC Joint Secretaries where these plans will be reviewed and it’s important that Napo takes every opportunity to exhaust all avenues to try and find a resolution.
And opposition to any employer who may think that reforms to our Negotiating Structures gives them licence to launch an assault on existing terms and conditions. Our aim is to reach a new collective agreement that will allow us to hold these employers to account on a regular basis and ensure that the NNC legacy policies as agreed in June 2014 apply and that future pay settlements within the NPS are the minimum baselines below which we will not let them cross.
Well, this conference will take a view on this big issue, and the choices facing you are stark. For there are many employers who are ready to walk away tomorrow from any notion of organised bargaining and who may then decide to do their own thing and there is a majority who, despite the inescapable fact that we don’t like them very much, and would rather they were not here, will see the sense of retaining a recognised structure for single table bargaining that will offer Napo the opportunity to get back to what we do best , namely trying to protect and promote the interests of our members, and in that vein let me make it clear, no performance related pay scheme will ever be acceptable to this union.
Whatever you decide, it’s an incontrovertible fact that unless we increase our membership density then we won't negotiate from a position of strength. In the case of the CRC privateers who only really understand the language of the balance sheet, it means that collectivism is our main asset and low membership our fatal weakness. And I say again, that while we can ill afford to totally rule out the use of industrial action in furtherance of our aims. We need numbers to better make our point.
And with that in mind let me say clearly that Napo will continue our opposition against the Trade Union Act, a campaign which I was proud to support through the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group on several freezing winter night demos outside Parliament which helped to bring a wider focus to the political debates in the Lords resulting in some important concessions, but which still leaves all trade unions in a potential situation of having to defy the law. And let me make it clear, that if or when Napo members decide to launch a campaign of industrial action in any of the 24 employment areas where we are represented, then that will be my barometer of whether that action is lawful or not, and I if necessary I will defy this vindictive Trade Union Act in the wider interests of our members (provided that 1. you stand my bail and 2. Because Steve Gillan and Mike Rolfe from the POA (a special welcome to you Mike) have promised me a cell with a river view.
But on a more serious note there has to be a much wider focus to our campaigns alongside the obvious issues that our members face at the workplace.
First on the socio-economic priority list is coming to terms with the post-Brexit landscape that we all now inhabit, which has created economic uncertainty and has spawned a resurgence of something nasty and dangerous in the form of increased bigotry, racism and xenophobia.
It’s graphically illustrated by the refugee crisis and the migrant labour question; two issues conveniently conflated by the media barons whose populist rantings not only pander to the lowest common denominator, but whose divisive agenda ignores two salient points. The first being that anyone who is desperate enough to use all the material means at their disposal to be loaded alongside their families into unfit boats in treacherous seas or climb electrified fences or steal into freezing cold lorries and expose themselves to a life or death struggle are not being reckless, they are fighting for their own or often their families basic survival in the pathetic absence of a co-ordinated solution from world leaders; and secondly that it is not the fault of migrant workers that we have the likes of Mike Ashley's Sports Direct sweatshops, poverty pay, exploitative zero hours contracts, and worse employment rights for indigenous British workers as you will find almost anywhere in Europe; but the fault of unscrupulous British and multi-national employers whose nefarious tax dodging practices and lack of investment in skills and training are all about lining the pockets and offshore bank accounts of their shareholders. That's the real story; and for as long as I remain as your General Secretary I intend to make that message clear at each and every opportunity that comes before me.
But should we be so surprised at encountering these attitudes on these shores when we witness the most graphic examples of xenophobia from across the pond in the US presidential campaign? What I see there leads me to remind myself as to the dangerous world we already live in (whether it be due to terrorist invoked carnage, modern day slavery, the abuse of women and children in regional wars and the regular repression of trade unionists) and just how more dangerous it might all become if such a bellicose, racist, misogynist demagogue in the form of Donald J Trump ever gets his backside into the Oval office.
We know of course how hard it is to be a trade union member in Britain today; but not many of us live in fear of never being able to return home, or the possibility that the last thing we ever feel or hear will be a knife in the back or a bullet to our heads. So let’s pay tribute to the work of the Justice for Columbia Campaign whose efforts have directly led to the historic peace accord that was signed this week, hopefully bringing an end to 52 years of carnage and misery, and maybe, just maybe, signalling to other nations that there is an alternative to bullets and bombs.
Sadly, events elsewhere in the world are redolent of the political climate of the 1930's and the rise of fascism and racism which caused that second catastrophic conflagration of the 20th century and, as we are seeing more and more, the manifestation of physical violence in British society, not only senseless violence but acts of murder, such as that of a polish migrant worker whose life (and effectively those of his loving family members) was destroyed; allegedly because he was heard speaking in a foreign language and while we await the investigation, we see many examples of intolerance and abuses of the verbal and physical variety which illustrate why this union must and will continue our campaigning work against racism and discrimination in all its forms in and outside of the TUC
It’s why I am proud to welcome Sunil Patel and Jason Webber of Show Racism the Red Card who we will continue to support alongside their colleagues who do so much work to try and bring community cohesion and tolerance and its why I will also do all that I can to support the work of Napo's Black Members network and our relationship with the newly formed NOMS Staff associations.
And I was proud to be part of our recent meeting with the team fronting the David Lammy review into racial bias in the CJS to which we will be submitting important evidence on behalf of our members.
Our hallmark is inclusivity.
It’s our most potent weapon against the forces of division. Inclusivity; the exact opposite of segregation; segregation as offered by this government in the form of the provision of probation services, the ever lingering possibility to sell off some of the work undertaken by our Family Court members, and away from our immediate agenda, but in areas that will impact on your families future, segregation in education by the proposal to increase the number of Grammar Schools; these are all graphic examples of what trade unions should collectively campaign against and why Napo members should play a part.
But if we are seeing something of a turning point by way of working people’s views about politics in general and the need to change things for the benefit of the many instead of the few, then I believe we must recognise that we all live under an electoral process that is outmoded, unrepresentative and no longer fit for purpose. A system that sees two parliamentary seats secured off the back of 8 million votes and the election of a minority Tory government by 24% of the electorate. Some may be thinking what’s that got to do with us? To which I will say: everything. So let me say how pleased I am to have had several opportunities to help push the need for the wider union movement to start that debate amongst our respective members.
For those that think change can't and won't happen, that’s what was said to the suffragettes but it never stopped them believing, never stopped them doing things and it never stopped them eventually securing the triumphs which their tenacity and energy brought about.
So where next for Napo?
You heard from Yvonne and Chris yesterday about the plans to realise the assets on Napo HQ by the sale of Chivalry Road, not for economic necessity but to put us in the best possible position as we explore new partnerships for pooling resources, finding a new permanent home and improving our services to match the needs of our members with organisations like the GFTU (welcome to Doug Nicholls) and other like-minded unions. And do think about signing up to the Union Building Conference in November – details from Doug on the stall.
And those needs are becoming more and more complex, for example in Cafcass where many of our members work remotely yet still accrue untold amounts of TOIL that they can never actually take, and whilst much of our time and precious resources have been utilised in coping with the dreadful impact of TR and the challenges posed by the CRC's. It has not prevented us working with the Family Court Section representatives to challenge workloads and inadequate funding provision, undertake surveys among our members about excess hours that we will be taking directly to Ministers and, at the same time, trying to build a more productive working relationship with senior Cafcass management.
In the NPS we face the continuing challenges of the E3 programme (Efficiency Effectiveness Excellence) and thanks to Jim Barton for last night’s contribution, you can return the Kevlar Jacket later! And thanks to our members for the professional and dignified way in which they got their points across, typifying what Napo members are all about. Napo’s work in securing a no redundancy agreement and guarantees on pay protection were hard won, but there is absolutely no complacency at this end about the pressure on our members regarding their future roles and locations, and I want to pay tribute to the efforts of our members in the appeal process for the jobs that were the subject of evaluation and appeals notably at AP residential and AP manager workers and Victim Liaison Officers among others; all of whom came away as disappointed as we were at the outcomes, but all of us who were part of the process, whilst not liking the results, are absolutely sure that it was applied fairly.
Turning lastly now if I may on the post TR landscape, where successive NAO / HMIP reports and the probation systems review are exposing this experiment in social engineering as the disaster that we predicted.
The fact is that CRC owners now see that they have been sold a pup! We see more job threats on the back of reduced WAV bandings, a PbR model that we said was trouble waiting to happen (and which surprise, surprise)serious trouble /H&S problems in the creation of operating hubs in part derelict buildings, meeting clients in coffee bars and office layouts that resemble a branch of KFC, so much so that when I visited one such premises in the Sodexo estate I started looking for someone to take my coffee order! All quite laughable were it not so serious.
We have been, and will constantly advise the Labour party on the impact of the transition of Probation into two new but wholly disjointed component parts, where the driver for CRCs is profit, and where the NPS follows complex and rigid processes regardless of their efficacy or relevance. The new world is one of high pressure, high workloads and high levels of fear.
Fear, in CRCs over job losses, fear in the NPS as staff worry about falling foul of strict bureaucracy. And the fear for all our members of the consequences of not being able to do what they know to be the right thing. And of course we say it was not supposed to be like this but then we told you so.
You out there at the sharp end know all about job cuts in the CRCs with new ways of working rushed in to bridge the gap, failing IT systems and closure of offices leading to struggles to do the most basic work with clients. We have shared examples with Labour’s Richard Burgon and Jo Stevens (whom we will hear from later, and you are most welcome Jo) of a move from delivering evidence based accredited programmes to short duration interventions, the dangers of short format reports, and clients having 6 or 7 different Officers during their order and being allocated to a call centre style hub after 12 weeks, regardless of their individual needs and other big ticket issues such as CRCs not enforcing orders and licences, and the lack of confidence within the judiciary about the legitimacy of Community Orders in the new world.
And we have the spectre of increased numbers of Serious Further Offences *(according to BBC statistics) despite changes to the reporting criteria which effectively mean that some SFOs occurring in CRCs won't even be subject to investigation.
When Richard Burgon asked a recent Napo reps’ meeting what was needed to improve the situation there was a unanimous answer; a single state, owned Probation service, with no profit motive involved.
Napo demands a return to interventions based on evidence of what works to support desistance, and an ability to respond to local priorities and circumstances rather than a rigid “one size fits all” approach based purely on reducing costs. Richard agreed with all of this and assured us that he is in “listening mode” at the moment, and that the views of Napo members are important to the preparation of the Labour Party manifesto. Good news Richard, and now that the interminable leadership contest is finally over let’s hope that Labour now focuses on what’s needed to boot this hopeless, pernicious government into touch at the next General election.
And the governments response to this developing crisis? Well you’ll get that in good time as we continually hear from Elizabeth Truss and Sam Gyimah who unfortunately could not join us here in Cardiff, and while we had a positive meeting with them both soon after they took office, its clear that they are both on a very steep learning curve and while I understand it takes a bit of time to get ones head around the complex world of probation and rehabilitation its no longer an excuse for them to claim that TR is still at early days. So to them and their advisers in the MoJ and NOMS I say: wake up, smell the coffee, read the increasing number of damning independent reports; because we have a serious problem... and it needs sorting out NOW. So get a move on and ensure that resources are in place to stave off the threat of more job cuts and the complete collapse of local probation services or, better still, demand that the privateers hand back the keys, take ownership of underperforming CRC’s back into public control and take some responsibility!
And while everybody here will welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to renationalise the probation service that’s not going to happen any time soon.
For example we need to help turn Gove and Cameron’s soundbites about Prison Reform into positive action. We all want to see less people in prison but unless someone somewhere appreciates that more offenders require more skilled practitioners to help them reintegrate into society then the platitudes about revolutionary reforms to our criminal justice system are merely more of the same old same old.
So while CRC owners plead poverty and the need to ship staff out, we say that if we are stuck with these privateers for another seven or eight years then they should be made to put their money where their mouth is and work with us to find solutions to some of society’s problems using the knowledge and skills of our members to help people turn their lives around that are cost effective to the taxpayer, rather than the millions upon millions of pounds that are squandered on incarceration.
Finally Chair, let me say how privileged and proud I am to be tasked with helping to lead Napo during these difficult times. The work undertaken by Napo on behalf of its members in the NPS, Probation NI the CRC’s and Cafcass is presented to Conference in the time honoured traditions of transparency and accountability. It's what makes Napo so unique; but let nobody be in any doubt that we face many tests over the coming months and the potential threat to our survival. BUT I hope that Napo members respond to those challenges by continuing to demonstrate their resolve to defend and develop their union and maintain its position as a respected and independent voice of reason and tolerance in what is a divided and conflict ridden world. It will take all of us, working together in solidarity to face down our opponents, but better still, convince them that there is an alternative to their behaviours.
Yesterday was a cracking day and from where I sit it tells me that we are maybe, just maybe, seeing the start of a renaissance. But I cannot make that happen on my own and will need your help too for that to happen.
Thanks for being here, thanks for your patience, your passion and your knowledge, and thanks to each of you for continuing to believe in Napo and all that we stand for.