Probation Staff Vote for Strikes Over Pay and Workloads
Probation Service and family court staff voted for industrial action after rejecting a five percent pay offer and citing chronic workload pressures.
Staff from the Probation Service and family courts have voted to launch industrial action, including strikes and action short of strikes. The trade union Napo confirmed the decision after members rejected a five percent pay offer, which the union characterized as inadequate.
Union leadership stated that probation wages have stagnated since 2010, resulting in some reception staff becoming the lowest paid employees in the civil service. The ballot also addressed chronic workloads and a lack of resources for community rehabilitation. Members have reportedly managed these pressures through thousands of hours of unpaid overtime.
Napo officials noted that staffing shortages and prisoner early release schemes under successive governments have exacerbated the crisis. The union maintains that the high turnout for the vote vindicates the campaign to recover lost ground in comparative pay with other staff employed within His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service.
