Chair criticises Home Secretary over pay freeze

9 June 2021

National Federation chair John Apter has taken the Home Secretary to task over the Government’s decision to freeze police pay despite officers’ efforts during the pandemic.

In his keynote speech to conference, he thanked Home Secretary Priti Patel for responding to the other items he had on his ‘wish list’, such as the Police Covenant, better protections for police drivers, Specials being allowed to join the Federation and increased sentences for officer assaults.

But he said there was one ask that still seems to fall on deaf ears - fair pay for police officers.

John told conference: “In real terms, officers have already had to suffer an 18 per cent cut in pay during the last decade. We need a pay review body that we can have faith in,  a pay mechanism that we can trust, and an independent process, without the hands of the pay review body being tied.  And then, we need a binding agreement from Government that it will adopt fully the recommendations.

“Many of my colleagues already feel betrayed by changes to the police pension scheme, with many of them seeing their future security eroded by these changes.

“And then, on top of everything else, to announce a pay freeze which will hit the pockets of police officers who have absolutely stepped up during this crisis, often putting their lives in danger during this pandemic, this really does stick in the throat.”

He questioned how it could be right or fair and added: “Now, as police officers, we don’t have the same rights as others. We can’t strike, we can’t take industrial action if we feel we have been treated unfairly…. and we can’t withdraw our labour. We also have restrictions on our private lives, unlike most other workers.

“For years, successive governments have respected this. They have recognised that, in the absence of those industrial rights, police officers should be fairly rewarded but in recent years this has changed.

“Well, Home Secretary, if that is the case, then it might be time for some other changes.”

The Home Secretary, in praising officers for their work during the pandemic, voicing her support for their role and saying it was her job to make sure officers had what they needed to do their job, failed to mention the issue of officer pay.

“Along with the national Federation chair we are, of course, pleased that the Home Secretary has listened to us on many of the issues we have raised on behalf of members but it appears she is happy to simply ignore what we are saying about the pay freeze,” says Steve Grange, secretary of West Midlands Police Federation.

“I think many officers saw the announcement of a pay freeze as a bit of a kick in the teeth. This, together with the failure to give us any kind of priority in term of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, has been incredibly disappointing for officers who feel betrayed by the Government at a time when they have been putting their lives on the line during the pandemic.”