‘Critics didn’t think we could change, but we have’

19 September 2018

The Federation has shown true grit and resolve to overcome its critics and reform, Andy Fittes has said in his final blog as national general secretary.

Explaining that he believes the organisation is now stronger, Andy outlines a number of key successes in his four years as secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW).

“I have been a rep for 19 years and I have witnessed first-hand how hard it has been for us to get where we are today. Critics thought we could not pull off the scope of the much-needed change advised in the 2014 independent review – among those critics included the then Home Secretary Theresa May – but we have,” he writes.

“I think we have shown true grit and resolve to move the organisation to a better place. I feel as though I am leaving the organisation stronger than I found it – armed with a new structure and governance that will enable it to be more effective for our members.

“The past four years has not just been about organisational change. We achieve many small things every day for our members, and those things add up to bigger things that make a real impact – for example, we successfully argued to keep the away from home overnight allowance, insisted that forces must adhere to the Children and Families Act 2014, and lobbied for clearer pension benefit statements and an accurate pension calculator.”

Andy goes on to argue that the Federation’s influence on the Government is the envy of many unions and representative bodies and admits the Federation must nurture its relationship with the Home Office to achieve ‘real, lasting change for our members’.

He concludes: “Cultural change is the next step – we are already on the road to a more united and co-operative PFEW, but we must continue to build trust with our members.” 

Read the full blog.