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October 21, 2008
NAPO AGM: THE GENERAL SECRETARY'S SPEECH
2008 AGM Speech
Chair, Conference,
I am very proud today to be able to stand before you and present this year’s Annual Report. It’s been quite a year for Napo and, I admit, quite a year for me personally. The process for electing a General Secretary in Napo rivalled the ongoing US presidential campaign in terms of its length and complexity! But I feel privileged to have been elected General Secretary, privileged because Napo means so much to me personally and has been an integral part of my life for more than 20 years. I pledge to serve you to the very best of my ability and to work with you to make Napo even stronger in the years ahead.
I would like to say one final word about my predecessor. I say final because I seem to have spent much of the last few months paying tribute to Judy! Her magnificent service to Napo has been well documented, of course, so my final word is a personal one. Judy has been an inspiration, generous, kind, good humoured, and deeply caring. I can honestly say that I would not be standing here today without her.
The last time I gave a formal address in Llandudno was back in 2001 when I was Napo’s Chair. On that occasion, as some of you may recall, I gave the first part of my speech in Welsh. I was very anxious about that and was reliant on the assistance of one of Napo’s former Administrators, Gaenor Kyffin, who is a Welsh speaker. In fact, I had a Dictaphone recording of Gaenor reciting the two sentences I had to say and immediately before giving my speech I was hiding behind the curtain listening to it repeatedly! Anyway, it appeared to go ok. At the end of the speech I was approached by a North Wales Branch member who thanked me for my efforts but gave me a slight reprimand - it was a pity, he said, you spoke with a South Wales accent!
Back to 2008 and we appear to be living in interesting times. I believe that adage comes from a Chinese curse, a curse because ‘interesting’ means life is unpredictable, uncertain, and volatile. Well it certainly feels like the world has been turned upside down recently as the global money markets have gone into meltdown - just a couple of days ago I heard a report on the radio suggesting that whilst Britain, along with the rest of Europe and the USA, is nationalising many of its banks, China is considering privatising its banking sector!
As we are all aware the chaos in the money markets and, most significantly, the Government’s investment of billions of pounds of public money into saving banks, is going to impact on all the economy, in the public sector, and on us individually. Given that the public sector was already under the threat of cuts across education, health, local government and the justice system, trade unions collectively are increasingly concerned about the future for members.
Public Sector unions meet regularly at the TUC in the Public Sector Liaison Group, predominantly at General Secretary level, where much of the discussion focuses on budgets, resources and pay and conditions issues. At its most recent meeting it was noticeable that, in looking ahead to 2009, unions are beginning to identify job protection as the priority for negotiations.
We have already had some experience of this threat during last winter when in response to a 5% cut in the probation budget many areas began to issue compulsory redundancy notices. It was a tough time for those branches and members affected. Although the threat was reduced by the return of £40million to the budget – why is it, incidentally, that so many lay claim to that “achievement” but no one ever owns up individually to making cuts? – recent events suggest that this threat may return more strongly in the coming months. The Times’ disclosure this week of a leaked MoJ document setting out proposals for up to 4000 job cuts in NOMS, 1300 of them in the Probation Service, may or may not prove accurate. But let me say this. It may be the job of politicians and civil servants to ‘think the unthinkable’ but it is the job of trade unions to stop the implementation of the unthinkable, unacceptable, and downright dangerous and stupid. And let’s be clear, this is exactly what cuts in probation jobs would be - Napo will fight such a move with all the resources at our disposal.
But we are not alone in this fight. Napo has joined forces with other unions several times in this past year promoting the work, values and conditions of public sector workers. As always, Napo members have demonstrated their unfailing commitment to the movement by lobbying MPs, attending rallies and meetings organised nationally and locally amongst many other activities. I thank you and congratulate you . And I also want to thank Harry for his skill and dedication in promoting Napo, and the issues that we care about, in the media and his ceaseless campaigning zeal. This has been quite a year for Harry too, and not always an easy one, and I am proud to work alongside such a committed and courageous colleague and friend.
And now, of course, we are looking forward to Justice Week and I am confident that members will, once again, engage with all the activities taking place. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to promote the values we care about alongside our sisters and brothers in PCS, Unison, POA and other unions. It is also striking that the Police Federation has signed up. Taking a break from an NNC meeting with the employers last December, the Napo and Unison delegations stood in Victoria showing support for the silent ranks of police in white caps marching through London. All is not well in our justice system but there is a power and strength to be gained from acting collectively.
Justice Week is timely given the continued lurching of NOMS from one reorganisation to another. In the latest change the unloved ROMS have been removed only to be replaced by DOMS who, I am told, will be more senior than ROMS were (ie paid more) and have a yet to be explained management responsibility for the prison governors and chief officers in their areas. And, apparently, these changes are going to save money! It’s a bit too early to comment on the effectiveness of the new DOMS but it is hardly surprising that we are more than a little sceptical. We always asked for an explanation of the role and purpose of ROMS but never got it – what we did get was the consequences of wasting an enormous amount of public money on a useless tier of bureaucracy, money that should have been spent on the front line practitioners and managers changing lives and protecting their communities. You will be familiar with the First World War phrase about lions led by donkeys. Well, given the history of NOMS a few donkeys in control might be something of an improvement! And think of the money we would save. The donkeys, or DONS as they would be known I guess, wouldn’t need much more than some straw, a few carrots and oats, and the occasional stroll around the local park. I can almost sense a consultant somewhere sucking thoughtfully on a pen top!
And where, in all these changes, is the Probation Service? Since NOMS’ inception Napo has fought hard to defend the Service we all care about so deeply. We appear to have fought off the dreaded ‘C’ word, that ugly concept ‘contestability’ though, like any malevolent virus, we should not underestimate its potential to re-construct itself especially with the growing threat of recession and swingeing cuts in public sector resources - specifically an unfeasible cut of £277 million in the Probation Service budget in the next two financial years. But the recent announcement that the Director of Probation post, soon to be vacated by Roger Hill who is to become a DOM (enough said, I think), will cease to exist in April is a worrying development. I have written to the NOMS Minister and spoken to him about our concerns. These are not just about the Director’s post itself but about the general absence of probation representatives at the most senior level in NOMS. It has been a prison takeover and we will continue to point this out at all levels of NOMS until action is taken. I think we have support from other organisations but I believe it is time for the Probation Association and the newly formed Probation Chiefs’ Association to start going public with their views. The ‘softly, softly’ approach is in danger of being ignored.
The absurdity of the situation is highlighted by the appointment of a former prison governor to lead on the development of the new qualifying and training arrangements for Probation. Having said that, the re-instatement of this vital project, following several months of delay and uncertainty, is one piece of welcome news. Congratulations to Cordell for her perseverance in keeping this project on track - she will provide a vital presence for Napo as its work is developed.
Ostensibly, the situation in CAFCASS appears much better given the allocation of a 3 year budget providing an average annual increase of some 7%. However, this past year has been clouded by the arrival of OFSTED as the new inspector of the organisation. It has seemed intent on making its mark by serving up a series of highly critical reports of several CAFCASS regions but in the process demonstrated frequent misunderstanding of the roles performed by staff. What was needed was a steady, calm, and measured response from the top of the organisation. What we got was, at times, not much short of a Corporal Jones’ strategy for inducing panic! This is not to underestimate the importance of the inspections or their implications for CAFCASS but, all too often, staff of all grades appear to have been forgotten as hurried plans and policies have been introduced. As is so often the case in any organisation, CAFCASS would have benefited by listening more and implementing less.
I would like to commend to members the recently issued ‘CAFCASS at risk’ briefing from Napo to parliamentarians. It provides an excellent overview of practice development in CAFCASS and highlights some of our proposals for improving practice in the organisation. This includes the way staff can be positively developed and supported.
Turning to pay I will stay with Cafcass which is currently, as a Section, considering the Strategic Pay Review which follows months and months of negotiations. There is a lot of money on offer primarily via the new, very short pay band so it is understandable that members have been concerned about the basis of progression. Cafcass, which really is on to a winner here, did its best to grab defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing the propagation of a rumour that PRP is being introduced. That is not true, of course, but it has taken much time and effort to set the record straight. We negotiate with good and decent people in Cafcass. My none too coded message is that those with authority in the organisation must stop interfering with the work of their representatives. Pay talks are not about personal glory, they are a serious and difficult responsibility on which lies the well being of thousands of staff.
Whilst the SPR in Cafcass contains the sort of offer unlikely to be available in the public sector for the foreseeable future, the situation is different in the Probation Service. I am struggling to remember a more difficult and, at times, more vitriolic pay round. These problems, of course, were founded on the shameful withholding of increments from staff by the employers. As I have said in my foreword to the annual report, the fact that you can do something does not mean it is right to do it and the employers’ behaviour was neither right nor honourable.
This year’s Bill McWilliams Memorial Lecture was given by Judy back in June. Traditionally, someone is invited to respond at the end of the lecture and this year that responsibility was given to Alan Wooderson, Chair of the Probation Association. In his remarks he commented on the efforts of the national employers to re-position themselves with the Government expressing the view that they were, to quote his own phrase, in ‘bad odour’ with Ministers. Well, Alan, I have to tell you that the employers’ decision to withhold increments from staff has created a stink that will linger long in the memory of Napo members – the employers have a lot of work to do rebuilding trust and credibility.
I know that this year’s offer is not going to have members hanging out the bunting and celebrating. However, in the context in which we were negotiating, and the worsening economic climate, I am pleased we have obtained a two year offer which delivers on our key principle of securing the progression arrangements put in place in 2006. I will not deny to you that pay progression in the longer term is likely to be a major battleground but this offer provides time for those key negotiations to take place. And, once again, I want to congratulate members for the magnificent turnout and vote in favour of action in the indicative ballot. This was undoubtedly the turning point in the negotiations. It changed the attitude of the employers and strengthened our negotiating hand, providing inspiration to the negotiators. We may not need industrial action over pay this year, but members showed that, if it was necessary, they would deliver. For me, that was Napo at its very best.
And keeping Napo at its very best, building and strengthening the union, is what we all want for the future. Which is why this year’s Strategic Review has been so important. None of us are likely to argue with its key tenets, that we should be focusing more on recruitment, that we should be more inclusive empowering all members and ensuring we are representative of all our members (and on this point I welcome the Protocol developed between Napo and the staff associations, a vital development given the apparent weakening of NOMS’ commitment to diversity), and that we should be improving our organisation and support of Branches. The challenge is to deliver the changes necessary to meet these aspirations which means, in some cases, reforming some of our most important and cherished structures. No union can compare with Napo, I believe, in our level of lay member engagement but the AGM, the jewel in our crown, can no longer be based on the diminishing hope that sufficient members will voluntarily attend.
Some of the proposals arising from the Review have already been implemented. Later today ‘Making an Impact’, part of Napo’s new recruitment strategy, will be launched and next month we will be holding a ‘recruitment week’. My thanks to staff, officers and members who have worked hard to deliver this key initiative. All of us must get involved in the active recruitment of members, we cannot afford, in every sense of the term, to assume new members will simply join us. As ‘Making an Impact’ makes clear we have a lot to shout about so let’s ensure everyone hears.
I am also delighted to welcome Ranjit and Mike as they take up their appointment as National Officials on Monday. Over the next few months they will be developing their roles and establishing close ties with Branches and the CAFCASS Section. We wish them well.
Ranjit, of course, is known to us as the Project Manager for Union Learning in England. Along with Aziz, covering the same role in Wales, they have taken lifelong learning into the heart of the union. And, as has often been pointed out to me, this is a valuable recruiting tool.
At the beginning of my speech I suggest that it had been quite a year for Napo. In part, that reflects the extensive change that has taken place at Chivalry Road. As you are aware Pete Bowyer took early retirement in April after nearly 30 years of service to Napo. His knowledge and wisdom is hard to replace and all of us will be grateful to him for all that he has done. I would also like to welcome Ian as our new AGS. He has already made a positive impression on all of us who have worked with him and Napo is all the stronger for his arrival.
Conference, I have another departure I have to announce. As of this week Jenetta Haley retired from her position as the Administrator working with the General Secretary. She has fulfilled that role for more than 10 years and I know that Judy was always profoundly grateful to have Jenetta working alongside her. Jenetta’s dedication, intelligence, sharp wit, and extensive knowledge will be sorely missed. Sadly, Jenetta has been poorly and unable to work for the past few months. In thanking her for all that she has done, we can assure her that she remains in our thoughts and in our hearts.
You may have noticed that all Napo’s staff are attending Conference this year. This gives me the chance to put on record out thanks for the tremendous service they provide, no matter how trying the circumstances. We are fortunate to have them and I hope that you will take any opportunity you have this weekend to pass on your individual thanks. We should also be grateful to the Officers who balance the demands of their position so ably and have steered Napo recently through some very choppy waters.
Conference, I spoke of ‘interesting’ times when opening this address. It is clear that there are some tough challenges ahead for our union and, more than likely, some difficult decisions to be made. But I stand here today with pride because I believe in Napo, in its strength, durability and vitality. It is no accident that we are the leading voice in Probation and Cafcass – it is based on years of knowledge and commitment. And it is based, fundamentally, on all of you; on your care for and dedication to your work and your trade union. So let us go forward with confidence, firm in our values, committed to our beliefs, and united in true solidarity.
Posted by Hampshire at October 21, 2008 06:50 PM