Federation set to launch campaign on industrial rights

9 July 2024

The Police Federation of England and Wales will campaign for collective bargaining and binding arbitration as part of a fairer police pay review process.

It comes after a nationwide poll in which 97.7 per cent of members who responded said they wanted the Federation to pursue industrial rights on their behalf.

“These results give the national Federation a clear mandate to start this campaign,” says Steve Butler, chair of West Mercia Police Federation.

“It will now start work, through its National Council and National Board, on developing the campaign while locally we will seek to discuss the poll results with the MPs who represent the constituencies of West Mercia in Parliament.

General Election

“Following the General Election, the newly-appointed health secretary almost immediately pledged to meet with striking junior doctors to negotiate with them over their pay and bring their action to a halt.

‘This shows the difference that having some form of industrial rights can have. As police officers we have no such rights. We have many restrictions placed on us, including not being able to join a union, and we knew that when we joined up.

“But we also joined up with an expectation that government would respect the inherent weakness that creates for us and would treat us fairly in the pay review process.

“The previous Government reneged on that deal, we have seen police pay fall by 20 per cent in real terms since the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) which determines our pay is beset by Government interference and therefore is not independent.”

Arbitration

The PRRB replaced the former Police Negotiating Board in 2014. But, where the PNB process included binding arbitration, PRRB does not. Its remit is set by the Government which can limit the pay award it can consider and over-rule PRRB recommendations. Under PRRB, there is no access to independent arbitration.

The Police Federation has made annual submissions to PRRB jointly with the Police Superintendents’ Association in the past, but has withdrawn saying it is no longer fit for purpose.

The Police Federation poll on industrial rights ran from 3 to 21 June this year and attracted 50,103 responses.