Probation workers to walk out for 24 hours

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has unveiled plans to put large parts of the service out to tender.

Probation trusts in England and Wales will be abolished and the supervision of 225,000 low and medium-risk offenders will be transferred to “community rehabilitation companies” by next October.

A much smaller national probation service will manage 31,000 high-risk offenders.

Napo, the trade union for probation and family court staff, claims the public will be put at risk if the changes go ahead. The union’s general secretary, Ian Lawrence, said: “People who have committed robbery, domestic violence and other violent offences will be supervised by a fragmented private sector whose main interest will be about making profit for shareholders not protecting the public.”

In the latest of a series of disputes to hit the public sector, members of the union will walk out today at noon and not return until noon tomorrow

Mr Lawrence added: “They strongly believe, along with other criminal justice agencies and experts that Chris Grayling’s plans will undermine public protection and put communities at risk whilst also not providing the adequate service offenders need to turn their lives around.”