GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

THE PRESIDENT: Moving on now to Motion 7, again from NAPO.

MOTION 7 – WE DEMAND PAY UNITY IN PROBATION

BRO IAN LAWRENCE (NAPO) moved the following motion:

This BGCM applauds the work of NAPO and its sister unions in probation for

securing a ground breaking pay modernisation award for its members

employed by the National Probation Service (NPS).

Unfortunately, the Government is refusing to adjust the current 21 community

rehabilitation contracts, meaning that the remuneration of their employees, who

are undertaking work of equal value, is inferior to that of their NPS

counterparts.

This is a scandalous situation compounded by the fact that the taxpayer has

funded hundreds of millions of pounds in bail outs to failing CRC contractors

who refuse to implement harmonisation of pay for their workforce.

The Executive Committee is instructed to offer all support possible for the

#Pay Unity campaign established by NAPO, and to use its contacts within

Parliament to ensure that this issue is kept firmly on the political agenda.

He said: Conference, brothers, sisters and guests, you have had an expert

analysis about the disgraceful situation faced by our members under the tenure

of this Government’s disastrous probation policy, I do not need to re-rehearse

what Katie has said in detail, but there are aspects to the motion before you

where I believe it is incumbent on me to perhaps give a little bit more of an

example about the disgusting regimes implemented by some of these

community rehabilitation companies and the owners that have bought the

contracts or bought the contracts some time back. Where best to start than an

outfit called Working Links. You may know that in February of this year Working

Links went to the wall, not before time, after a quite appalling record of delivery

and disrespect and treatment of their staff. They collapsed into administration

in February leaving behind a mess and at least £1.2 million in bills to third

sector providers who they were unable to pay for services. It is interesting, isn’t

it, that this motion which seeks fair treatment for staff and harmonisation of pay

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