Organising to Win in Community

Conference notes the adoption of the national interim Organising Recruitment Strategy Development (ORSD) project recommendations by UNISON and the linked Organising, Recruitment and Retention Plan. These recommendations include securing: Disaggregated membership targets of 1% growth in each regional service group; A 10% increase on 2022 levels of recruitment of stewards, Health & Safety reps and […]

Trust and Confidence

Conference condemns the comments of the Home Secretary and her attack on LGBT+, women asylum seekers and multiculturalism in her speech 26th September 2023. As the government department responsible for policing, we believe that this rhetoric undermines the confidence in policing and risks damaging the hard work and effort of generations of Police Staff, who […]

A Pay Rise for Probation Workers

Conference notes: On 23rd June 2023 the Probation unions, UNISON, Napo and GMB/SCOOP submitted a pay-reopener claim of an increase in the value of all pay points of 12% effective from 1 April 2023 and an unconsolidated payment of £2,500. Despite repeated promises over many weeks the employer has failed to respond to this pay […]

Women’s Mental Health at Work

Conference notes that the workforce in the community sector especially in the social care sector is overwhelmingly female. The additional pressures on women working in the community sector, especially low paid women have seen almost 3 in 5 of these women experience poor mental health where work is a contributing factor. However, for Black women […]

DIGNITY WITHOUT DANGER

Conference notes with concern the delicate balance of safely and securely caring for the welfare of detainees in a dignified and professional manner. The temporary loss of liberty whilst being detained coupled with the circumstances of arrest too often leads to irrational behaviour and self-harm whilst being confined. Tried and tested risk adverse methods of […]

FRONT LINE WORKERS – WELLBEING

Conference notes that many members working in front line roles are regularly exposed to traumatic working conditions. Members who are in roles that are exposed to new or additional trauma may therefore have a higher risk of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and possibly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which could result in […]

SECURING THE LEGACY OF THE YEAR OF BLACK WORKERS IN POLICE AND JUSTICE TO CUT CRIME, NOT POLICE STAFF

This conference notes that whilst 2023 is the Year of Black Workers, and its focus of ‘Establishing Legacy to Generate Change’, this year in and of itself is not the change we seek, it is merely the opportunity to generate change. Black Workers up and down our society often find themselves in low-paid, insecure work, […]

NEGOTIATE FOR A TWO WEEK DEADLINE FOR REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS NOW!

Conference notes that even in 2023 disabled workers in police and justice still aren’t getting the adjustments they need to allow them to do their job to the best of their ability and without exacerbating their impairments. UNISON surveys have consistently found that the majority of disabled workers across public services, including in the police […]

TACKLING POOR MENTAL HEALTH OF POLICE AND JUSTICE WORKERS

Conference notes with concern the evidence of the last few years that has shown an increase in poor mental health in workers across public services, including in police and justice workplaces. This was significantly exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw people cut off from family, friends, and support networks. On top of this was […]

THE JEWEL IN THE PROBATION CROWN

Unpaid Work is the most visible and public facing element of the Probation Service. First introduced as a sentencing option to the judiciary in 1973, it soon became popular as way of offering both punishment, rehabilitation and restoration to the community, it outperforms prison sentences when comparing re-offending rates and despite some dubious interventions from […]

REPEAL THE OFFENDER REHABILITATION ACT 2014

Conference notes that: 1)The Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) 2014 is the Act of Parliament that accompanied the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) programme. The Act made changes to the sentencing and releasing framework to extend probation supervision after release to offenders serving short term sentences. It was also supposed to create greater flexibility in the delivery of […]

ONE (HMPPS) HIS MAJESTYS PRISON AND PROBATION SERVICE – ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Conference notes with concern the direction of travel of the latest proposals around Accredited Programmes in the Probation Service. The primary driver for this latest change project, known as the Next Generation, appears to be rooted in cost savings and in tacking the inefficiencies of programme delivery within the Prison system. The rationale for imposing […]

UNPAID WORK LEFT BEHIND

Unpaid Work, Community Service, Community Pay Back, whatever people call it, everyone knows what is meant by it. Unpaid Work is the most visible, public facing, community interactive element of the Probation Service. First introduced as a sentencing option to the judiciary in 1973, it soon became popular as way of offering both punishment, rehabilitation […]

END PROBATION WORKLOADS CRISIS NOW

Conference notes with concern that the Probation Service is now affected by an on-going workloads crisis and that the following problems continue to negatively affect our members’ health, safety and welfare, such as: 1)Probation is full. Caseloads continue to rise inexorably. There are large backlogs in unpaid work orders. Unlike the Prison Service, which in […]

BLACK MEMBER REPRESENTATION ON POLICE AND JUSTICE SERVICE GROUP EXECUTIVE (SGE) AND POLICE STAFF SECTOR COMMITTEE FOR ENGLAND AND WALES

In UNISON’s Year of Black Workers, Conference notes with concern the absence of Black member representation on the Police and Justice SGE and Police Staff Sector committee for England and Wales. The absence of Black representation at this level is something that must be addressed. There are many workstreams within the SGE and its constituent […]