Estimates are that well over 80%, and 90% plus in many areas, of Napo members were on strike today.
We were part of a strike force of over a million members across the public sector.
Thanks to the many members who are putting their own experience of the action on Napo’s Discussion Forum.
I spent the morning going round a number of picket lines in London, both Probation and CAFCASS, where in both Services the strike was exceptionally well supported.
I attach some photos so far, including some that have been emailed in to us.
I attach below a note on the feedback so far which Kath Falcon and Margaret Pearce compiled at lunchtime today.
I spoke at the London rally this afternoon, a rally that was packed out and had many Napo members there, and the notes I used for my speech are also attached below.
Lets us hope that the Government and the Employers will know sit up and realise the anger that LGPS members feel abut the way they have been treated. Let us hope that a negotiated settlement may still be possible.
Probation and CAFCASS members together in Manchester
Probation members in Slough:
Probation members in Ebbw Valley:
Probation members London Great Peter Street:
CAFCASS London,Wells St:
CAFCASS London, Principal Registry
London Mitre House:
Feedback by lunch time on 28th March
Feedback from across all Probation Areas and CAFCASS shows a very high level of solidarity for strike action from Napo members. With between 80 and 90% of members on strike on average and others on leave or off sick. Number of Napo members going in to work VERY low. Some areas reported 99% of the membership on strike and even in small areas, like Cumbria, reported 100 members on strike and ALL the offices closed and programmes etc. not running.
Offices were completely shut all across the country and where management was keeping offices open it was with a skeleton staff of senior managers, agency and non members – just so they could say offices were open. In one area, South Wales, management tried to keep an office open with just one temp and one non union clerical officer until the union pointed out that they were putting those people in a very vulnerable position – so the office was closed.
Dorset reported that the Community Service Office and the Poole office were completely shut. The other main office in Bournemouth was kept open by non union members but the branch mounted a strong picket and talked to people on picket lines. The feeling from reps was that the action had galvanised people making them realise how strong they were if they stood together. Picture particularly good in Wales with ALL the main offices in Gwent closed and in Dyfed Powys was only one field office operational. Reps reported it was ‘like International Day’ – when everyone is off watching the rugby!
There has been little report of obstructive activity by employers or police – a brief disagreement on one picket line as to whether 7 people picketing together was too many – resolved by the Police Control Unit permitting it. Napo has quite a few manager-members and has experienced support with some actually taking strike action and others not crossing picket lines.
CAFCASS London estimated that over 80% of members were out on strike, and the majority of those that went in were those who were directed to attend for court hearings.
London Probation also had a good turnout, over 80%, and a good presence at the London rally.
There are many reports of public support – offering pickets cups of tea and supportive car hooting.
Some photos have come in of picket lines already and one Branch hopes for pictures in the local paper of their picket banners draped on a locally-moored ship.
Several Napo Branch officials (or ex-officials) will be addressing various rallies up & down the country later today.
Judy's Speech to London Rally:
Chair, fellow trade unionists, sisters and brothers,
Can I start by saying how proud I am to be on this platform today; a day which is historic in so many respects; a day which is historic in terms of the scale of the action, historic in terms of the solidarity of unions working together, and historic in demonstrating the strength of the British trade union movement.
I am proud to be speaking here this afternoon wearing two hats, and speaking to you both as General Secretary of Napo, and on behalf of the many thousands of our members who work in family courts, CSFCASS, and who work in the Probation Service; but also speaking to you here today as Chair of the TUC Womens Committee.
Firstly, as General Secretary of Napo can I say how important it is for Napo to be part of today’s strike; part of the biggest strike since the 1926 General Strike; and one of the 11 unions supporting this action, showing the reality of what solidarity action.
That solidarity is especially important to a small union like Napo; we may only have just over 9,000 members, albeit a number growing thanks to this strike, - - but I was able to issue a circular yesterday saying that members would be part body of strikers of over a million strong.
That is solidarity!
I am pleased to report that the feed back received from our picket lines is that support has been solid, That family courts across the country have been unable to function and interviews with families cancelled; probation offices, and probation programmes across the country have been closed; that crown, magistrate and criminal courts have effectively come to a halt without our members; that probation officers in prisons and YOT teams have simply not been there. Overall branches are reporting levels of support in the region of 90%. Except Wales who are reporting levels of support of 99%; Wales compared the day , in terms of adrenalin atmosphere and excitement, to an international day when welsh rugby was playing at home!
Perhaps I should add that Napo is not a union regularly takes strike action.
Although there have been specific pockets of action in areas of the union, the last time we took action across the whole union was 1983; 23 years ago.
That action was taken by Napo members not for themselves, but on behalf of the then trainees, who at that time faced a cut in their salaries by the Home Office.
There is perhaps some irony in the fact that we as a union have taken strike action firstly over the youth/the future of the service 26 years ago and now today are striking over pensions.
Like most of the members who have been on strike today, what motivates us is not personal greed, but the outrage of an injustice.
The outrage of genuinely believing that we had planned pensions and acted accordingly, only to find that through no fault of our own, the gaol post had changed.
Let me quote from a letter from one of Napo’s members to John Prescott, in commenting on the changes to the regulations:
And have we heard any justification, No
I don’t know if you saw Sir Digby Jones on the telly last night being interviewed about our strike today?
He called our strike a “disgrace.”
He said we were “selfish and wrong”..
That we needed to “get our act together.”
.that we had to “make ourselves relevant to the 21st century”.
Well Sir Digby, the members of all our unions and indeed many non members have decided that our action today is exactly what they define as “getting our act together” !
I’m sure Napo is not alone in having branches reporting huge surges in membership applications to join the union prior to today’s strike action
Demonstrating that this action is exactly seen, by members, many non members and the public, as making our selves “relevant to the 21st century”.
And when Sir Digby talks about “disgrace”, lets be clear what the disgrace is;
The disgrace is the way members of our unions, dedicated public sector workers, have been treated in respect of their legitimate expectation in respect of their pension and their expectation of the age at which they could afford to retire.
An expectation, a contract, which members have paid for,
Which members have planned their lives on the basis of,
And an expectation which the Employers and the Government have dashed for no good reason,
and dashed counter to the treatment given to our colleagues elsewhere in the public sector.
What is also a disgrace is the way the employers are saying that meeting our demands, demands for the protection of existing members be honoured; will cost council tax payers. A claim which Ministers acknowledged was not the case at the last negotiating meeting.
And colleagues, I am also proud to standing here today as Chair of the TUC Womens Committee.
¾ of all members of the LGPS are women; it is worth remembering, particularly when faced with onslaughts by the likes of Digby Jones, when he talks about us being selfish, that the average women’s pension from the LGPS is just £31 a week.
And to add insult to injury, the Employers and the Government have tried to say that as John Prescott was quoted as saying on the BBC last night, that the current rule discriminates against women and breaks European laws on age discrimination.
These claims are also a disgrace!
Their claim that the 85 year rule is age discriminatory has been categorically dismissed by the EU Commission as “Artificial””
I think that’s the same as a fib or a lie;
And what about their claim that the 85 year rule discriminates against women?.
The union’s independent actuaries have pointed out that the only possible grounds for the Government and the employers saying that the rule of 85 discriminates against women is that there are a disproportionate number of women who work part time, and part time workers typically have later ages of joining the scheme.
Lets just remind our why this is the case.
This is the case because it was not until 1987 that part time workers could join the scheme, and 1993 before those working less than 15hours a week could be admitted.
Both moves that the unions campaigned long and hard to achieve.
Now that part time workers can join the scheme when they start work, that difference will not exist in the future.
So colleagues, we can all be proud of action today, action that shouldn’t be necessary, but action that has been forced upon ius by intransigent employers and Ministers.
Colleagues let us hope that after today we can enter genuine negotiations and resolve this dispute as we always wanted to , by negotiation.
If that does not prove possible however, I hope that members will stick with this action and support future calls for strike action, should it prove necessary.
Let us remember that; that we are not the disgrace; that it is the likes of Sir Digby Jones, LGPS Employers and Government Ministers that are the disgrace.
Let us remember that our cause is just and our cause is right, and let us commit to seeing this action through until we secure the justice that members of all our unions deserve.