Nearly 6,000 probation staff in England and Wales today voted overwhelmingly for strike action in protest against "excessive" workloads, with the first one-day stoppage scheduled for January 29.
The probation union Napo said that its members had voted two-to-one in favour of strike action and 86% voted in favour of a subsequent work-to-rule.
The union claims that workloads for its members, who are charged with rehabilitating criminals, have increased by 50% but staffing levels by just 10% in the last decade.
Napo said strike action followed years of protracted negotiations with management over increasing workloads.
Staff complained that in recent years the probation service has taken on new tasks including youth offender work and drug treatment orders without getting enough resources.
The number of trained probation officers has remained the same over the last five years and more than 15% of the workforce is leaving each year, the union said.
A spokesman for Napo said: "This action is regrettable but we see no alternative. In most areas, workloads have risen by 50%. Matters will be made worse by next year's budget which is at best expected to stand still.
"Nevertheless the union is more than willing to continue talking to management to reach a satisfactory resolution."
Napo said it had been raising the issue of workload for three years. The union has 7,000 members, but around 1,000 will not be striking because they are already covered by deals negotiated in four of the country's 48 probation regions.
The turnout for the strike ballot, held in December, was 55%. A total of 2,098 voted in favour of a strike and 1,168 against, while 2,797 voted in favour of work-to-rule and 458 against.
