Rich Cooke: ‘Let the voice of our members be heard on industrial rights.’
11 October 2023
West Midlands Police Federation Chair Rich Cooke has made an impassioned plea for colleagues to give a mandate to push for industrial rights.
Addressing the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Annual Conference on Wednesday, via video link, he said police officers have been “badly let down by the current system that determines our pay and conditions”.
He asserted: “A 17 per cent average reduction in our real terms pay since the year 2000 is nothing short of scandalous. And we currently have no real recourse, no seat at the table to negotiate with the government, with chief officers around our pay. That's what needs to change.
“This ballot gives [police officers] across all the 43 Federation branches a powerful opportunity to change this and to make our voices heard in the corridors of power. Let's make it happen, let's come together, let’s deliver an overwhelming turnout and let the voice of the membership be heard.”
West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke has called for colleagues to give a mandate to push for the right to strike.
Rich was contributing to a session on industrial rights, held on the second day of the PFEW Conference in Manchester. It began with a reminder that police officers have been legally denied the right to strike for more than 100 years.
Gemma Fox, PFEW Deputy National Secretary, said the “degradation to police pay over a number of years” had led to a desire among police officers for the issue to be put on the table, reminding Conference that the national Federation had withdrawn from the independent Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) over concerns over interference from the Home Office.
She added: “Policing pay has risen at barely half the rate of other average UK employer employees since 2000. We are an outlier, with other protective services and public sector bodies, due to our inability to take action.”
Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the Prison Officers Association, echoed his support while warning the Federation to “be patient” as the POA has been calling for industrial rights since 1994 and so far without success.
The session heard from Calum Steele, former General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, about the system for agreeing police pay rises north of the border, which is preferable to the PRRB where the “bottom line is set by government”.
He explained: “Having a position where you are able to [negotiate] rather than simply submitting evidence... being able to look them in the eye is a very powerful position to be in.”
Deputy National Chair Tiff Lynch criticised the lack of certainty around police pay and budgets and insisted that “fair pay and a seat at the negotiating table” was necessary to make police officers feel valued and stop them from leaving the service.
Lord John Hendy KC said the road ahead would become clearer after the general election (expected in 2024) as it will be clear who forms the next government, what majority they have, and how susceptible they may be to pressure from the Police Federation.
He concluded: “In that respect, I emphasise a blindingly obvious point: the bigger the vote in favour of the restoration of collective bargaining rights in your forthcoming ballot, the more force your arguments are going to have with the government.”
Members are being encouraged to get involved with the second day of Annual Conference 2023 (Wednesday 11 October). Register for the event and be part of the conversation.
READ MORE: Annual conference: A review of day one
