‘We owe members a better deal’
22 October 2026
Mel Warnes addresses conference.
The Federation must keep fighting for its members, the acting national secretary told delegates attending the first day of national conference.
In a speech in which she called on the Government and policing leaders to deliver a better deal for officers, Mel Warnes, who is soon to retire after more than 30 years’ policing service, also looked to the Federation to bring about change for members.
“We owe those people a better deal,” she said. “Fair pay. Proper rest. A decent family life. The right technology. Less bureaucracy. A modern workplace. Fair treatment when things go wrong. And a voice in the decisions that affect their working lives.”
Unsustainable
Mel warned that the current approach to police pay, working conditions and accountability is unsustainable and highlighted the Federation’s evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) on recruitment, attrition and the loss of experienced officers, and its stark conclusion that “exploitation” is built into the way policing operates.
She called for reform of police pay determination and highlighted the Federation’s work with MPs on an amendment to the Police Reform Bill to introduce fair, binding arbitration and collective bargaining.
“Being a police officer is fundamentally different from other jobs. The responsibility we carry to the public means withdrawing our labour is not compatible with policing.
“But we also need to be honest about what happens when that principle is tested,” Mel told conference.
“That argument gets weaker with every generation of officers who accept that restriction and the sacrifices that come with it — and then watch people in other professions use collective bargaining and industrial action to secure better pay and better conditions.”
Reasonable
Officers, she said, did not want to strike, but they are being reasonable when they ask what they get for giving up the right to strike: “If the answer continues to be poor pay, cancelled rest days, unsustainable workloads and a pay process that can simply be ignored when the recommendation doesn't suit Government, then we should not be surprised when the next generation starts to question the bargain.”
And Mel argued: “If Government wants police officers to continue accepting this unique restriction, then it has a responsibility to make the alternative work.
“Meaningful collective bargaining. A process to negotiate terms and conditions. Binding arbitration. Which is legally binding through a neutral arbitrator making a final decision. A genuine voice over pay and conditions.
“We are not asking police officers to walk away from their responsibilities. We are asking Government to recognise its responsibility to the people who keep the public safe.”
In a direct message to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, she said: “The status quo is not sustainable. Meet with us. Work with us.”
Turning to police conduct, Mel called for accountability to be fair, timely and proportionate, saying the Federation would press the end-to-end review of the accountability regime to consider time limits on investigations and review the threshold for referring officers to misconduct proceedings.
