# Probation officers back strike action as union warns service may collapse within weeks

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/probation-service-could-collapse-within-weeks-union-bosses-warn-after-officers-vote-in-favour-of-strikes-in-major-blow-to-labours-early-release-scheme-which-threatens-to-put-public-at-risk/
- Published: 2026-11-13T18:24:17+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T18:32:20+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16291129/Probation-Service-collapse-weeks-union-bosses-warn-officers-vote-favour-strikes-major-blow-Labours-early-release-scheme-threatens-public-risk.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Elections, Politics, World

## Key points

- Probation officers have voted for strikes and action short of strikes.
- Napo says workloads and staffing leave the service near collapse.
- The union wants a 12 per cent pay rise and reduced workloads.

## Summary

Probation officers have voted to support strikes and action short of strikes in a dispute over pay and workloads, prompting union leaders to warn that the service could collapse within weeks. The dispute threatens to add pressure to Labour’s early release scheme, which depends on probation officers supervising people serving the rest of their sentences in the community.

Napo says the service is already beyond breaking point and relies heavily on overtime, so refusing overtime could remove thousands or potentially hundreds of thousands of working hours. The union is seeking a 12 per cent pay rise and lower workloads, and has rejected a 5 per cent offer. Meanwhile, 650 prisoners were released early on Tuesday, with thousands more expected to be freed in the coming months.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.