Federation to campaign for fairer pay review process

9 July 2024

This will involve campaigning for a fair process of collective bargaining and binding arbitration.

A total of 97.7 per cent of those who took part in the Police Federation’s nationwide poll of members voted in favour of the campaign.

“I think the results of this poll should send a clear message to the Government that police officers have had enough,” says Luke Mitchell, chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation.

Prime Minister

“The new Prime Minister has talked a lot about bringing change to the country and this is one area where he can really bring about that change.

“The Government needs to listen to what officers are saying. The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) is not fit for purpose. As a Federation, we have withdrawn from the process as it simply isn’t fair, or independent. The Government currently holds far too much sway over this mechanism.

“Police officers have a unique place in our communities, they fight crime, they keep the peace, they protect the vulnerable. The service that never says no, they put their lives on the line to protect the public.

“They have restrictions placed on them, for example, they cannot join a trade union and they have no access to industrial rights.

Industrial rights

“But they expect the government of the day to respect this potential weakness and treat them fairly when considering pay. The failure of the previous Government has led to this poll result and the new Labour administration has a chance to remedy this.”

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.

Luke concluded: “All branches have representatives on the Federation’s National Council so we will play our part in shaping this campaign. But, while this is happening on the national stage, we will also be writing to our local MPs seeking meetings so that we can discuss the results of this poll, seek their views and hopefully gain their support for our campaign.”