‘Officers need substantial pay rise’

28 October 2021

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Geoff Bardell has called on the Chancellor to “put his money where his mouth is” and ensure officers are given a substantial pay rise next year.

Geoff was commenting on Rishi Sunak’s budget statement yesterday in which he announced an end to the public sector pay freeze.

And he called on the Chancellor to guarantee the increase was higher than the cost of living.

“We welcome this announcement to end the public sector pay freeze,” said Geoff, “But now we need to see words backed up by deeds.

“We’ve seen our pay cut in real terms over the last decade while living costs are rising considerably.

 “It’s only right, particularly after the last 20 months we’ve been through policing the pandemic, that officers should be rewarded for the unique role they play in society and the dangers they face.

“We need the Chancellor to put his money where his mouth is and guarantee an above-inflation pay rise for officers. Anything less would be another insult.”

The Federation’s national vice-chair, Ché Donald, echoed the comments, calling on the Government to level up police pay so inflation is taken into account, and to make sure they receive a fair wage for an increasingly difficult job.

“Police officers were shoddily treated by this Government and rewarded for their dedication and professionalism during the pandemic with a zero per cent increase, which was a real terms pay cut,” said Ché.

“While we welcome the Chancellor’s decision to end the unfair pay freeze for some public sector workers, this must result in an increase of more than the four per cent inflation figure he predicted for 2022, if it is to make a positive difference.

“As well as a real term pay increase, we urgently need a fair pay mechanism which is independent of Government interference and delivers a binding outcome to restore trust and faith in the police pay process as anything less is just populist political fanfare.”