Probation officers to take industrial action over pay and early release scheme

Probation officers have voted to reject a 5% pay rise and take industrial action, citing growing pressure created by the government's prisoner early release scheme. Members of Napo, the probation service union, voted to refuse overtime from 23 November - and could take strike action should the union "deem that option to be necessary".

Its general secretary Ian Lawrence said the service was "already in crisis" before the early release scheme came into force, which relies on probation staff monitoring freed prisoners in the community. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government had put forward a "strong offer" and was recruiting an extra "1,300 officers to significantly cut workloads".

They added that the government has "robust contingency plans in place" to ensure offenders "are still subject to the same rigorous supervision" in the event of industrial action. Probation service unions have warned that officers have too many cases and the rate at which staff are leaving the profession has increased.