NEWS
Message delivered to
Downing Street With the support of all 43 branches, National Chair John Apter delivered a forthright letter to Downing Street expressing how our membership feels towards the Government, demanding it overturns its zero per cent pay award decision and calling for a fairer pay review system, not influenced by the Government. The letter states: “This is about
much more than money, though for many the offer of a zero per cent pay rise, after all the police has been through in helping deal with the pandemic, was the final straw. “It is about the risks you asked us
to take - which we did, because it is our duty - without proper PPE. It is about the endlessly changing and confusing Covid legislation which we were expected to police - which we did, because it is our duty. It is about your mixed messaging and lack of understanding of our role, which combined to put many of our members in invidious positions which led to them
Delivery to Downing Street
being abused and attacked. “It is about the failure, despite the
promises of the Home Secretary, to take seriously our request that police officers should be given early priority for vaccination. It is about the very strong feeling we have, not least when the Prime Minister and Home Secretary spoke at our annual conference, that the warm words flow easily, but the actions that show genuine support for the police do not.” We are now calling for a complete
reset of the relationship between the Government and the police, starting with the following three requests: • Stop taking police officers for granted and treat them with respect;
• Agree to work with the Federation on an entirely new and fairer system of remuneration decision-making; and,
• Reverse the zero per cent pay award decision and give police officers a meaningful pay increase. The letter continues: “Just this
weekend, we found out through a Sunday newspaper column about a new so-called Beating Crime Plan. We don’t need old ideas presented as new, we need genuine investment for the whole of the Criminal Justice System and genuine consultation over new ideas. Without that, this is just another ill-thought-out initiative. “Police officers are sick of gimmicks.
Sick of underfunding. Sick of mixed messaging putting police at risk. Sick of Government contempt for police. It’s time for a total reset of police- Government relations.” Read the full letter on our website –
polfed.org
Fed declares ‘no confidence’ in Home Secretary
The Police Federation of England and Wales has declared it has “no confidence” in the Home Secretary, following an emergency meeting of its National Council. At a meeting on 22 July, the
Federation also resolved to withdraw its support and engagement from the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), labelling the current police officer pay mechanism “not fit for purpose”. It follows a pay freeze announced by the Government on the same day that NHS staff were awarded a three per cent rise. This, the Federation believes, shows that while the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are happy to offer warm words and praise for policing, it is not backed up by action. PFEW National Chair John Apter said:
“The PRRB is the only mechanism we have to consider any pay award for police officers. It has its hands constantly tied by the Government which continually interferes. The PRRB itself recognises its lack of independence. We can no longer accept this and have no confidence in this
04 I POLICE I AUGUST 2021
system which is why we are walking away. “We often hear the Home Secretary
praise police officers, but our members are so angry with this Government. They have been on the frontline of this pandemic for 18 months and will now see other public services given pay increases while they receive nothing. “At the beginning of this pandemic
they endured PPE shortages and were not even prioritised for the vaccination. They continue to be politicised and this pay announcement is the final straw. “As the organisation that represents
more than 130,000 police officers, I can say quite categorically – we have no confidence in the current Home Secretary. I cannot look my colleagues in the eye and do nothing.” With inflation set to increase to almost
four per cent later this year, the pay freeze is yet another real-terms pay cut for police officers in England and Wales. It is a huge slap in the face for officers who have been attacked and vilified while holding the frontline during the pandemic.
The Home Secretary John added: “PFEW has tried its
level best to be entirely co-operative in all dealings with Government. But this Government and this Home Secretary, for all their talk of how much they value what we do, have made this impossible. They cannot be trusted or taken at face value in the way we would expect. “As the undisputed voice of policing,
we say this to the Home Secretary: you cannot pat our members on the back for their heroic efforts with one hand, while effectively taking their pay with the other. Warm words are no longer enough.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
