‘Officers should have their say on pursuing industrial rights’
28 April 2023
Police officers should be given the opportunity to have their say on whether they would want the same industrial rights as colleagues in other emergency services, according to incoming West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton.
Workers from across the public sector have taken industrial action in recent months as part of their battle for fair pay and conditions in the face of a cost of living crisis and soaring inflation.
As Crown servants rather than employees, police officers do not have the same rights as nurses, teachers, doctors and other key workers but their pay is worked out using a similar mechanism.
Barry said: “The Government wants to treat police officers the same way it treats other public sector industries by placing our salary decisions in the hands of the Police Remuneration Review Body.
“But this is clearly unfair because we have none of the rights that our public sector colleagues enjoy when it comes to standing up to be heard on pay – something which they have exercised recently and are likely to continue doing over the coming months.
“The issues that other workers are pushing back on are exactly the same as we face – pay and conditions.”
Independent research published by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think tank last month suggested the well-documented decline in police pay over the last two decades is likely to be linked to the restrictions on police officers’ right to strike, which it says has put them at a distinct disadvantage to all other key workers when it comes to pay talks.
The SMF study led to a 17 per cent pay claim which the Police Federation insists would simply bring its members’ salaries back into line with fellow public sector workers.
“Our current pay uplift request is 17 per cent which would only put right the cuts to our pay over the last decade,” said Barry, who takes over as chair of West Mercia Police Federation next week.
“Workers in other public sectors have taken industrial action over pay and conditions but our members have no redress as the law currently prohibits such action by police officers.
“So perhaps the time has come to ask police officers if they would want to campaign for industrial rights?
“Industrial rights take many forms and do not always end up in taking strike action but I believe we should be asking our members if they want us to raise the issue of industrial rights on their behalf.
“The Police Federation is a member first organisation where we respond to members’ views and opinions, not just those of the people at the top.
“Our members should be given the opportunity to have their say.”
The police service gave up its recourse to industrial action to settle disputes more than 100 years ago.
The country was thrown into turmoil between 1918 and 1919 when more than 50,000 police officers under the guidance of the National Union of Police and Prison Officers (NUPPO) went on strike after repeated calls for fair pay and work conditions in the wake of the First World War.
Eventually the government of the day backed down and promised fair pay to police officers in return for them giving up the right to strike and brought in the Police Act 1919, which also established by law the Police Federation of England and Wales.
