Ian Lawrence NAPO Leader is working 24/7 behind the scenes, lots that members dont see. He serves his members well and members have a part to play.
A series of 'talks' will be taking place in Parliament over the coming months centred around the theme of creating a 'People's Parliament'. The idea behind the initiative is for a range of people to be invited to speak on a subject in which they are a specialist in order to foster debate about the state of the country, the political scene more broadly and to encourage discussion around a progressive agenda which addresses these issues.
The next panel discussion on ‘The future of prison policy in England and Wales’ on Tuesday 4th of February will be of particular interest to Probation workers.
The panel includes Napo Genersal Secretary, Ian Lawrence, as well as PJ McParlin the National Chairman of POA, Frances Crook Director of The Howard League and Elfyn Llwyd MP in the chair.
A full schedule of our events including notable speakers such as Owen Jones, Mark Serwotka, Michael Mansfield QC and George Monbiot, and can be found on our website, twitter or facebook. An article launching the initiative was recently published in the Guardian and can be read here.
John McDonnell MP says: "With 14 months to go before the next election, we should be entering a period of intensive debate about the state of the country and the politics we want for the future. This hasn’t taken off yet and usually the last place to look for this is in parliament itself, with its often sterile knockabout politics. However, the meeting rooms are there and we are going to use them to bring some real politics to parliament. You never know, it might even infect the Commons chamber itself".
Twitter: @pplparliament
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peoplesparliamenttalks
Members certainly do have a part to play - it's just that there has to be something to play a part in. The NAPO leadership are not even talking to the members let alone trying to lead or develop any kind of action. the few words that have been offered of late have been the same tired entreaties to take futile individual actions like take out a grievance - meaningless - or write to your MP - again, meaningless. Meanwhile, the notion that Ian Lawrence is 'working 24/7' is given the lie if the most that can currently be said is that he is to speak at some politics as parlour game fringe meeting in parliament - a meeting that will be well away from the rooms where the decisions are made, without a doubt...
ReplyDeleteI too would like to see a plan of action. I am keen to strike and boycott TR training. But even the unions cant unite for something as massive and monumental as Privatisation. I hope we will unite and fight before it is too late - but the Government are doing a good job in dividing us. Seems like: CEO's are all about celebrating the past and just drifting with the tide into their new positions; Unions are absorbed with the Probation Institute - I received an email with about 20 documents regarding it last week at work. Now we have people/staff herded into their different CRC/NPS pens with the divisions that will bring. The Unions called for action and campaigning now they need to make a decision to follow-through with all that we have, or fold. A union rep warned me about making myself vulnerable last week for writing to both CEO's (to be of NPS/CRC), and that I should leave things to official channels. There is a lot of anger brewing in probation staff who will start making themselves vulnerable if we can't all share in the plan of action. In other words, we don’t want to be playing "Blind Man's Buff" at this stage (see earlier blog), any more than we have too, anyway.
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