- Conference
- 2016 Police & Justice Service Group Conference
- Date
- 14 June 2016
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that:
1)The existing national negotiating machinery for the Probation Service is now under review following the split of the Service into the National Probation Service and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs);
2)The National Probation Service (NPS) is a civil service employer covering England and Wales with a workforce of 9,400 staff;
3)UNISON members transferred from their former Probation Trusts to the NPS and CRCs in June 2014 as part of the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms;
4)UNISON is recognised by the NPS and each CRC for the purpose of collective bargaining;
5)Since the transfer of staff, the collective bargaining machinery for the NPS has been under review by the NPS and its recognised trade unions;
6)The NPS and the unions are now in the process of setting up specific bargaining machinery for the NPS only;
7)Eight private companies now own and run the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies;
8)These private companies are setting up local, or cross-CRC, consultation and bargaining machinery with the recognised trade unions;
9)The probation unions are in the process of negotiating the future of the National Negotiating Council (NNC) which remains the single table bargaining machinery covering both NPS and the CRCs;
Conference believes that it is important that UNISON now recognises the independent status of NPS as a national employer with employer level bargaining arrangements, and the separate bargaining machinery now emerging in the Community Rehabilitation Companies.
In order to protect our NPS and CRC members’ terms and conditions and to ensure that UNISON is able to play a full role in the emerging NPS and CRC level bargaining machinery, Conference instructs the Service Group Executive to:
a)Abolish the existing National Probation Sector Committee and in its place –
b)Establish a National Probation Service Sector Committee
c)Establish a Community Rehabilitation Company Sector Committee
d)Amend the Service Group Constitution as follows:
In section 3 ‘Sector Committees’:
In section 3.1: Delete ‘Probation Sector Committee’ and replace with ‘National Probation Service Sector Committee’ and ‘Community Rehabilitation Company Sector Committee’
Delete section ‘3.3 National Probation Sector Committee’ and insert new sub-sections as follows:
3.3 National Probation Service Sector Committee
‘The National Probation Service Sector Committee will consist of two representatives per region, with 1 general seat and 1 female seat. Members will be indirectly elected by each Regional Police and Justice Committee for a 2 year term of office. The Chair of the Sector Committee will be elected by the members of the Sector Committee at its first meeting for a two year term of office.
The UNISON representatives on the NPS negotiating machinery and the Probation Service National Negotiating Council will be elected by and from the National Probation Service Sector Committee at its first meeting for a two year term of office.’
3.4 Community Rehabilitation Company Sector Committee
The Community Rehabilitation Company Sector Committee will consist of two representatives per region, with 1 general seat and 1 female seat. Members will be indirectly elected by each Regional Police and Justice Committee for a 2 year term of office. The Chair of the Sector Committee will be elected by the members of the Sector Committee at its first meeting for a two year term of office.
The UNISON representatives on the Probation Service National Negotiating Council will be elected by and from the Community Rehabilitation Company Sector Committee at its first meeting for a two year term of office.’
Renumber successive sub-sections in section 3.