Poll to take place on Industrial Rights
22 May 2024
POLL ON INDUSTRIAL RIGHTS - A MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL PFEW - IMPORTANT
Dear Colleagues,
In June, we are running a poll for every member of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), including Special Constables, on whether they want PFEW to pursue industrial rights for police officers. Specifically, to seek to establish the right to ‘collective bargaining’, on your behalf, with a focus on a fairer pay mechanism with binding arbitration.
The poll, in the first instance, is to achieve a view on whether police officers want the Police Federation to seek, in law, the establishment of a fairer pay mechanism.
The decision to obtain the view of all members on this matter was taken after many members expressed the desire for the Police Federation to campaign for establishing, in law, a fairer pay mechanism.
Members had raised concerns about the erosion of police pay and conditions, predominantly the inability of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) to act independently, which were considered while making the decision to conduct the poll.
Independent research, such as the findings from the non-partisan think-tank Social Market Foundation’s study last year, has revealed that in the past 22 years, police pay rose by a mere 39 per cent while inflation during the period grew 67 per cent resulting in consistent pay reduction of more than 27 per cent. The study also found that in real terms police pay had fallen by exactly 17 per cent since 2010.
As a membership-led organisation we feel it is important that we seek the view of all members on this matter, and PFEW will act on the majority position. There are of course legal parameters and challenges to be aware of, which is why time has been taken to approach this task carefully.
What will it achieve?
Should the poll be successful, the Police Federation will commence a campaign, using political, legal and influential means, to seek to achieve a process of collective bargaining and negotiation abilities alongside the implementation of an independent pay mechanism.
If the government refuses, then the Police Federation will come back to the membership to see if they want to seek greater industrial rights, including the right to take industrial action.
How will the poll happen?
You will receive a link to the poll via MiVoice, the same company that manage the election process for PFEW.
The vote will be open from Monday 3 June to Friday 23 June 21:59.
If you do not receive a link, please contact your local police force Federation office.
There will be no threshold set for the percentage of members who need to participate in the poll. The decision to proceed will be made on the majority of votes cast.
We will be sharing more detailed information laying out the background for the poll, the reasons for launching it now, and an in-depth set of FAQs before the poll goes live on 3 June.
Finally, if you have any questions, please reach out to us via email on communications@polfed.org.
Kind regards,
Calum Macleod, National Secretary
Tiff Lynch, Deputy National Chair
Mukund Krishna, Chief Executive Officer
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