they may gain – and what they may lose. Similar organisations within the UK and internationally have already challenged the right for police officers and similar services to take industrial action and have been declined. The reinstatement of industrial rights would have to be done through an act of Parliament via laws and legislation. At present, there is no political will to undertake this. There is also an ongoing case on this matter that has already taken 10 years to get to where it is. The way this case pans out will determine our next steps. Members of the National Council have had a presentation on the issue and branches can be contacted for local advice.
Are we going to be re-engaging with the pay review body? If so, how soon? The PFEW National Council, which comprises of the Chair and Secretary from each of the 43 local Police Federation Branches, as well as 12 representatives with protected characteristics, took a decision on behalf of the membership to not engage and, at this time, have seen nothing to change their decision. We are reviewing the situation and meeting with all relevant key stakeholders, so that a decision is made in the best interests of the membership. There are positives and negatives regarding being in or out of the pay review body, so it is important that we consider the most plausible way to secure the best pay and conditions for members. As soon as a final decision is made, we will communicate the decision and reasoning to our membership.
Can the Federation work towards getting us annual leave that is in line or similar to the Home Office and other government departments?
Like most other organisations in the UK, police officers can accrue 30 days annual leave per year. The main difference is the time taken to accrue this number, with police officers not receiving the 30 days until they have served 10 years. The Federation is currently negotiating a reduction in the time it will take to receive this maximum allowance.
Seeing as police officers have no industrial rights, in your opinion, what is the best way to arm our Federation so that we can negotiate better pay and conditions? Our branch chairs can have a great deal of impact updating and campaigning to local MPs on behalf of our members. We advise reaching out to your branch chairs if you have anything that you would like to raise to local MPs, or to learn more about the work that they are doing on behalf of their local branch. Nationally, we are working on campaigns to highlight the plight of our members, bringing it to the forefront of the Government and, indeed, the public’s mind, and we will continue to lobby the Government for our members. We are the undisputed voice of policing and we will use our influence to make change through wider consultation engagements. We have recently met with the Home Secretary, and we hope that this is the start of an honest and open communication channel going forward. We do our best work when we hear directly from our membership. Your real-life stories, your experiences and your voices are what help us to make the case to decision-makers in Government. This is how we make real change. Please continue to reach out to us, to share your stories and your thoughts and we will continue to do our utmost to achieve better pay and conditions for all of our members.
23 | POLICE | DECEMBER 2022
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