Federation to launch campaign for fair pay review process

10 July 2024

Gwent Police Federation chair Matthew Candy believes Government failures to treat officers fairly has led them to call on the Police Federation of England and Wales to campaign for a process of collective bargaining and binding arbitration in future pay review processes.

A total of 97.7 per cent of officers who responded to a national poll by the Police Federation of England and Wales last month wanted the staff association to launch the campaign.

“Our members are simply frustrated at the previous Government’s failure to ensure that they are paid fairly for the challenging and often dangerous role they undertake,” says Matthew.

“While the demands placed on them have increased, along with the dangers they face, they have seen their pay decrease by around 20 per cent in real terms in recent years.

“But it’s not just the pay award itself that has caused the frustration. It’s actually more about the fact that the current process for considering their pay is not fit for purpose.

Independent arbitration

“Introduced to replace the Police Negotiating Board in 2014, the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) is in no way independent. The Government makes the appointments to PRRB then, having made these selections, it sets the remit for what they can consider, perhaps giving a maximum percentage award they can go to.

“But then, just to be sure, it also reserves the right to totally ignore the PRRB recommendations and, since there is no access to independent arbitration, as was the case with the PNB, that’s that.

“To add another layer to the frustration, police officers have witnessed many other groups of workers take industrial action when they are dissastified with their own pay award and sometimes even have to police these strikes or demonstrations.

“With a new Government in place, the new health minister has already committed to meet with junior doctors whose recent strikes have at times paralysed the NHS with a view to negotiating over pay. All we want is the chance to negotiate and to have access to binding arbitration.”

The Police Federation poll on industrial rights ran from 3 to 21 June this year and attracted 50,103 responses.

The Federation’s National Council and National Board will now start to create the campaign for the introduction of a fair and binding pay mechanism.