Page 4 - WMPF Federation Oct-Nov2017 Final_Neat

Secretary’s introduction

Were we all really

in this together?

recommendations and increase their Side – for the Government – and the Staff
salaries in double figure percentages. Side, including representatives of the Police
This anger has grown as a result of the Federation, was scrapped by the previous
Government’s announcement on police pay Conservative coalition Government and
in September and, let’s be honest, it did replaced by the current Police Remuneration
make it even worse that we were supposed Review Body (PRRB).
to find out the outcome of our latest pay The Federation, and others, are now
review in July but the Government made us restricted to submitting written evidence in
wait for a few months, for no apparent support of their pay claim. This year the
reason, while MPs enjoyed their long Police Federation of England and Wales, in a
summer recess. joint submission with the Superintendents’
There was perhaps the hope that the Association, presented a well-evidenced
Prime Minister had asked the Chancellor, claim for a 2.8 per cent pay increase.
who had made it clear that he felt the Members of the review body visited
country couldn’t afford to give us a bigger forces and took evidence from interested
than one per cent pay rise, to go away and parties and I have presented evidence on
re-do some calculations during July and this basis prior to the 2016 pay award. The
August. PRRB is supposedly an independent
It soon became clear that, even if he had organisation that makes its
been asked to do so, he hadn’t managed to recommendations based on the evidence
shake the proverbial money tree as hard as that it receives, however, this comes with a
the Government had back in June when it huge caveat that it also has to act within a
needed to bolster its own reduced majority remit and this remit is set by the treasury
By Steve Grange, secretary of West Midlands in the House of Commons. which, for the last three years, has stated no
Police Federation
But, even more infuriating was the fact award should breach the one per cent public
that the Government tried to make out sector pay cap. What must also be
ack in 2010 when the new police officers were getting a two per cent remembered is that the PRRB only makes
Government announced the whole pay increase. We are not. The two per cent is recommendations to the Government
Bnation would need to tighten its belt made up of a one per cent increase and a which then either accepts or rejects them.
so that we could all play our part in tackling one per cent bonus – non-pensionable by Over the past few years, the
the budget deficit, I think we all accepted the way – that needs to be funded by recommendation of the PRRB has been a
that if that was what was required we hard-pressed forces; yes, those very same fully consolidated one per cent uplift to all
would all do what we had to do. forces already struggling to balance police officers’ pensionable pay and this has
I am pretty sure we were told by the resource and demand due to the heavy been accepted by the Government and
Prime Minister of the day, David Cameron, funding cuts they have faced in recent years. implemented. This is in spite of many
that we were all in this together – or words As a Federation, we totally understand interested parties stating the pay should be
to that effect. why our members are now feeling irate and targeted at a few officers rather than across
However, as the years have passed, it exasperated and we have made sure Prime the board.
has certainly felt like some of us were more Minister Theresa May is aware of the This year the PRRB made the
in it than others and there has been a strength of feeling among rank and file recommendation that there should be a fully
growing feeling of frustration, resentment police officers. consolidated two per cent uplift to all officers’
and indeed anger that, as public sector However, the way pay is awarded now is pensionable pay. But the Government ignored
workers have seen their wages fall in real not something on which we - or any of the the PRRB recommendation and decided to
terms due to the one per cent cap on their other interested parties – can negotiate make an award of the one per cent
pay increases, MPs have seen fit to back with the Government. The Police consolidated and one per cent as a bonus for
their own pay review body’s Negotiating Board made up of the Official this year only, funded from existing budgets.

04 federation October/November 2017 www.westmidspolfed.com