Chairman's Blog: Police officer pay

29 June 2022

“The current police pay review body isn’t independent - this needs to be corrected… There is already an independent pay review body that ours could be modelled on… MPs.”

Andy Berry, Chair of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, blogs on Police Officer pay.

“Well another day with strikes in the news, this time Barristers. More rail strikes likely, airport workers likely to strike and Teachers are very likely to withdraw their labour too. The common thread is that they all hit the news and politicians and the public talk about them. 

“Withdrawal of labour has always been the ultimate opportunity for a workforce to make a statement about how unhappy they are. I was reflecting about the rail strikes last week with the hours of news coverage, questions in Parliament and the Transport Minister, Grant Shapps having to defend his position and imagining that the Home Secretary, Pritti Patel, was quietly feeling smug and giving little fist bumps as it is never a problem she will have with the police force.

“Quite soon the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) will report about police pay and the Home Secretary will consider its recommendation. Whatever it comes up with the Home Secretary will ultimately, I suggest on advice of the Treasury, not be offering the police an inflation busting pay rise and certainly not making up the massive real terms loss of earnings that we have suffered during the years of austerity. 

“As crown servants we will moan about this, as the Chair of Devon & Cornwall Police Federation I will decry the pitiful pay settlement as will our National Chair. But the Home Secretary will deliver some platitudes about valuing the police but emphasising the need to reign in public sector spending.

“Police officers don’t expect special treatment but they do expect fair treatment and do believe that the special contract that we have with the public to always be there for them does deserve to be rewarded by a fair pay mechanism. 

“The current police pay review body isn’t independent - they say that themselves and this needs to be corrected. There is already an independent pay review body that ours could be modelled on… MPs. 

“Their pay review body is free from political interference unlike ours and their decisions are binding. This is probably why we have seen MPs pay rise by 28% since 2010 when compared to that of a Police Constable which has seen only 12%. Being treated fairly is not much to ask is it.

“I believe that the vast majority of people across the South West want their Police Officers to be treated fairly so to all the MPs across Devon & Cornwall, to those I’ve spoken with and to those who haven’t found the time yet to speak with me please speak up for us in Parliament and push for fairness and push to get us an independent pay review body like yours.”