| NapoProbation officers in England and Wales are set to strike against the government’s plans to privatise the service. Napo members voted by 84% for action – only the third time in the union’s 101-year history. The government wants to outsource most of the probation services’ work to a mix of private firms, charities and voluntary groups. General secretary Ian Lawrence said: “We now have a mandate for industrial action that we shall be pursuing with vigour but, as always, we will be seeking to avoid this if possible by way of further negotiations with ministers. “However, our members have sent a clear message to the government that they will not tolerate the shameless privatisation of the probation service and the serious consequences this will have on communities, offenders, victims and staff. “Napo does not take strike action lightly, but we strongly believe that decimating the award-winning public sector probation service and selling it off to the likes of G4S and Serco will result in increased re-offending rates, a lack of continuity in risk management and will see the privateers making huge profits at the expense of victims, offenders and tax payers. “We want to raise public awareness of what these proposals will mean to the communities and put a halt to Graylings plans until there has been a full review of his plans and a proper Parliamentary debate.” - See more at: http://union-news.co.uk/2013/10/breaking-probation-officers-vote-national-strike-privatisation/#sthash.qGDSV0X2.dpuf |