Government must commit to return to police pay negotiations, senior officer says
The Government must commit to a return to negotiations over police pay if it ever wants to be the "party of law and order again", a senior officer has said.
West Midlands Police Federation chairman Rich Cooke argued the force had been "taken for mugs" as he made the call for a return to collective bargaining.
It was axed when the Police Negotiating Board, and Police Arbitration Tribunal System, were replaced by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) in England and Wales in 2014.
The call comes after the Police Federation nationally claimed the Government's £1,900 pay rise for officers amounted to a "real terms, divisive pay cut across ranks" amid soaring inflation levels.
Mr Cooke said: "The only way forward as far as I am concerned is a return to collective bargaining under the Police Negotiating Board/Police Arbitration Tribunal system. The PRRB denies us the right to get round the table and negotiate our pay as, for example, our colleagues in Scotland still do.
"If this Government ever wants to be the party of law and order again it must start with a genuine reset by committing to collective bargaining. As they approach their leadership election, the Prime Ministerial candidates should channel their stated hero Lady Thatcher who clearly did support the police in words and action.
"She gave us that very system only for it to be disgracefully abolished by David Cameron and Theresa May."
Mr Cooke said he had no faith in the PRRB, even if it was fully independent, and suggested there was little point in re-engaging after the federation in England and Wales last year decided to withdraw its support and walk away.
The increase is due to come into effect on September 1 and fails to take into account the "huge real-terms pay cut" officers have had 2010, two years of a blanket pay freeze, and the cost of living crisis, police chiefs said.
Because of this, the police federation claims that from October the increase will equate to a 30.3 per cent "real terms pay cut for constables" at the bottom pay point of the scale, and an 18.5 per cent real-terms pay cut for constables at the top pay point of the scale – with other ranks also affected.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "We are grateful to police officers and staff who work tirelessly to keep our streets safe and put criminals behind bars which is why we are providing up to £16.9 billion for the policing system in 2022/23, including funding to deliver the final 8,000 of 20,000 new officers.
"It is the role of the Police Remuneration Review Body to consider and make recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances. We value their independent and expert advice and give very careful consideration to their recommendations."
The pay award – equivalent to five per cent over all – will be targeted at those on the lowest pay to provide them with an uplift of up to 8.8 per cent, and between 0.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent for those on the highest pay, the Government said.
And it will mean a £1,900 boost for police officers of all ranks and reflects the "vital contributions" made by the officers and the cost of living pressures, they added.
The PRRB declined to comment.
