Fed steps up wage demands amid public sector pay warnings

29 June 2023

Nottinghamshire Police Federation has warned the Government not to use police pay as part of its strategy to tackle inflation.

Branch chair Simon Riley spoke out after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he faces making some unpopular decisions as he grapples with soaring costs.

Simon renewed his calls for a 17 per cent pay claim and said members would not accept a low offer after several years of real-terms cuts.

He said: “Our members have been undervalued for far too long and the time has come for them to be properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do.

“It would be grossly unfair for this year’s police pay settlement to be decided on the basis of the Government’s inflation strategy because they have already taken more than their fair share of financial hits over the years through austerity and funding cuts.

“Police pay has been in decline for more than a decade as a result of that and we will not accept another real-terms cut.

“We are asking for a 17 per cent award this year and that figure will help bring us back into line with colleagues in the other emergency services while also reflecting the current cost of living crisis which has had a massive impact on our members.

“Our members face risks every day just doing their job and they must be fairly rewarded for that.

“Our communities value the selfless and tireless work they do in keeping us safe and it is time the Government did too.”

Mr Sunak said he would not shy away from making decisions “people may not like” as he vowed to halve inflation by the end of the year.

He said inflation was “higher than we’d like” and insisted it was important to “make the right and responsible decisions on things like public sector pay”.

Simon Riley said police officers would not accept another real-terms pay cut

The Prime Minister also refused to commit to accepting recommendations for public sector pay rises from independent pay review bodies as part of the Government’s economic strategy.

Pay review body recommendations are not legally binding on the Government and, although they are typically accepted, ministers can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice.

This would be a controversial move after the Government defended last year’s below-inflation pay rises by saying it had followed the bodies’ advice.

The Police Federation withdrew its support for the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and branded it unfit for purpose after the 2021 pay freeze.

Simon said: The Police Federation’s disengagement from the PRRB in 2021 and the rationale for this, is well documented. 

“For ministers to now simply dismiss PRRB recommendations, after years of insisting they were written in stone, is more than a little ironic and is indicative of this Government’s approach to police pay.”

The latest skirmish in the long-running pay row comes after the Police Federation announced it would ballot members on whether the organisation should pursue industrial rights on their behalf.