Government Must Listen To Police On Pay Negotiation

10 July 2024

The Government must ‘listen and take stock’ of police officers, after an overwhelming vote to support collective bargaining on pay.

Mike Peake, Chair of GMP Federation, was speaking after it was revealed that more than 50,000 officers responded to a poll run by the Police Federation of England and Wales asking them whether they should pursue negotiation with binding arbitration when determining police pay.

And an astonishing 97.7% of those polled agreed that the PFEW should pursue such rights.

Mike said: “Every police officer in GMP deserves fair pay for the risks that they encounter daily. The results of the recent Industrial Rights Poll, which revealed that 97.7% of police officers are in favour of wanting PFEW to campaign for collective bargaining with binding arbitration, gives a clear message to the Government around police officers’ strength of feeling.

“Research carried out by the Social Market Foundation highlights a substantial decline in real-term police pay in the UK since 2000. On average, federated ranks’ real pay declined by 20.2% between September 2010 and December 2023.

“The Industrial Rights Poll was vital when you consider the result of PFEW’s Pay and Morale Survey, which revealed that 89% believe morale in GMP is currently low or very low, 92% do not feel respected by the government, 22% never have enough money to cover all their essentials, and 73% would not recommend joining the police to others.

“To improve morale in policing and encourage recruitment and retention, the new Labour Government needs to listen and take stock of what police officers are saying.

“Police officers in GMP want to do their very best for the public that they serve, but to do that they need better conditions and fair pay. Collective bargaining with binding arbitration would be a giant step in the right direction.

“I urge the government to work with the PFEW and establish a mechanism that would lead to fairer pay for the hard-working police officers in GMP.”

Calum Macleod, PFEW National Secretary, added: “This strong mandate from the membership sets us up to negotiate with the new government a fair and binding pay mechanism.

“Thank you to those who participated. PFEW’s National Council and National Board will begin creating a campaign for the introduction of a fair and binding pay mechanism on the behalf of our members.

“We realise a political agreement to change process can take time, but a new Government allows us the opportunity to take a fresh view on those issues that matter most to our members. We will keep you updated with progress.”

The poll, which ran from 3-21 June for Federated members, received 50,103 responses, with 97.7% in favour of wanting PFEW to campaign for collective bargaining with binding arbitration.