UK government face fight with police for fair pay

Government’s praise of police officers is short lived as the Official Side fail to offer police a fair pay increase

27 July 2007

All talk and no action is the message coming out loud and clear from the new government today as police officers were told they would not be awarded a fair police pay award this year, with a mere 2.325% being offered as compensation for putting their lives on the line every day.
 
Speaking on behalf of the Staff Side of the Police Negotiating Board, Jan Berry, chairman of Staff Side and the Police Federation of England and Wales, said:
 
“ Despite the increasing threat and reality of terrorist activity and the vital role police officers recently played to save life and property during the recent floods, the government is on course for an all out war with the UK’s 170,000 officers. We’re not being greedy; all we want is a fair pay deal to reflect the increasing dangers we face.” 
 
Following a battle last year the government broke away from a 28 year old agreement which ensured fair pay for police and resulted in nearly three decades of harmonious industrial relations. This year the employer side of the Police Negotiating Board were told to look only at recommendations put forward by the government stalwart, Sir Clive Booth, who has clearly failed to take into account the dangers officers face, the restrictions on their public and private lives and their inability to take industrial action. 
 
Mrs Berry added:
 
“ It’s ironic that only weeks ago, whilst addressing the Association of Chief Police Officers, Gordon Brown praised the efforts and hard work of police officers and paid tribute to the dangerous and challenging role officers today face in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crimes. He said ‘There is no greater responsibility than that which you as police officers accept… It is clear why we as a government have a duty to provide you with the support and protection to back you in what you have to do and be there for you - because you are always there for us’. Fine words Mr Brown, but the reality is a slap in the face when it comes to fair pay for the officers out there running from one job to another and facing unknown dangers and threats every day.”
 
Since the 1978 Edmund-Davies review police pay arrangements have sought to reflect the limited employment rights afforded to officers; police are prohibited from taking any form of industrial action, the fact they are accountable for their actions on and off duty and the mounting dangers posed by terrorism, gun and knife crime.

Mrs Berry concluded by saying:

“What angers me, is that from the Home Affairs Select Committee report out last week it appears financial mismanagement by the government, police authorities and chief officers is now being taken out on the 170,000 frontline police officers throughout the UK who put their lives on the line every day, who battle bravely to safeguard people and property and who disregard their own safety in the fight against terror”. 
 
“It is these very officers who are now having to fight for a fair pay formula that takes account of the fact they are accountable for their actions and inactions 24/7 and would face imprisonment if they took industrial action; this is one battle we shouldn’t have to fight.
 
“We have new governments throughout the UK, and many people who were not involved with the decision to impose Sir Clive Booth’s recommendations which suppress police pay. It’s not too late for them to stand up for British policing and ensure that officers receive a fair pay award. We are ready and willing to talk.” 
 

Notes for Editors

 

• On 24th July an Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in Parliament. The EDM reads:
  
  EDM 1986       24/7/07
  
  FAIR PAY FOR POLICE OFFICERS
  
  That this House recognises the bravery and hard work of the police and commends police officers for adapting to meet the diverse challenges asked of them, from the fight against crime and the implementation of community policing to the fight against terrorism and dealing with natural emergencies such as the floods affecting large parts of the United Kingdom; and calls upon the Home Office to recognise the unique role of the Office of Constable and ensure that UK police officers are given a fair pay settlement from 1st September 2007 which reflects the daily dangers they face, the fact that they are accountable for their actions both on duty and off duty and are prohibited from taking industrial action.

• A report released today by the Home Affairs Select Committee on 19th July found that the real time investment given to police had not produced the results expected. The report criticised senior managers in policing for poor resource allocation.

• Since 1979 police pay has been up-rated in line with an index linked to pay rates for the preceding 12 months. 

• The method of increasing police pay on an annual basis by application of an earning index was to ensure police officers pay did not fall behind that of other groups of workers as had previously meant low retention rates and difficulty recruiting officers. 

• The (Police Negotiating Board) PNB was set up by statute in 1980 for the purpose of negotiation police pay and conditions. It is independently chaired with its own secretariat. Two sides make up PNB; Staff Side represents police officers up to an including chief officers and the Official Side represents the employers; government, the Association of Police Authorities and Association of Chief Police Officers.

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