SPEECHES


TAKE POLICING SERIOUSLY


National Secretary cautions Government to urgently address the damage caused by police pay degradation


Addressing delegates from the Government, membership and across the policing spectrum at Annual Conference 2023, National Secretary Calum Macleod said: “This has been an increasingly difficult year for policing. This has been a difficult year for you - we understand that. “We understand the financial pressures you are under, and we are with you. The federated ranks are suffering from pay being reduced in real terms by over 20 per cent since 2010. “We are all aware of the current fiscal


situation of the country yet how can it be acceptable that those who protect the public 24 hours a day continue to struggle to make ends meet. This is unacceptable and needs to be redressed by the Government. We desperately need a fair mechanism for determining police pay.” On July 13, the Government announced a 7 per cent pay increase for members, which PFEW believes is a step in the right direction, but still falls short of adjusting the real term pay cut officers have suffered since 2000.


“With this year’s pay award, the feedback from our members around the country is it has kept a roof over their heads, and food on the table for their families – how can that be an acceptable position? The Government needs to take policing seriously – it needs to be higher up on the agenda, as they have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to police pay. “The degradation of police pay


has been damaging. The erosion of allowances, the erosion of pay has been stark - especially since the abolition of the Police Negotiating Board in 2013-2014. In July 2021, PFEW withdrew from


Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) after its recommendations were again disregarded by the Government though officers were left with no uplift in pay despite the efforts and challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We need a mechanism to fairly, and adequately, reward our members. I believe the current mechanism is broken – we need a new one which police and


CHANGE FOR A BETTER FUTURE


CEO deeply sorry to those members impacted by tribunal’s judgment, announces independent review


The appointment of the Federation’s first-ever CEO, Mukund Krishna, represents some of the organisational change, which he set out in his first speech at this year’s Annual Conference. He approached the financial troubles


the Federation is currently in with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to recognise the mistakes of the past,


04 | POLICE | SPECIAL EDITION | 2023


to learn lessons, rebuild bridges and implement the change that is needed. He explained that the Federation


has initiated a seven-point plan to address the challenges brought by the Employment Tribunal’s judgment in pension age discrimination claim. Mr Krishna was crystal clear about the direction PFEW must take following


members of the public can trust in. “On taking office I made a


commitment, as your national secretary, to the organisation, to the board, to the council and to you, the membership, that we would do things differently, that we would be more open in our dealings on your behalf. “We now have an agreed strategic direction for the organisation, a direction that can ensure that your views are heard so that our influence grows, and we can secure the best working conditions for our membership. “We also need to speak out about this with one voice,” said Mr Macleod.


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