Chief Officers Standing ‘Shoulder To Shoulder’ With Federation On Pay

THE Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police stands “shoulder to shoulder” with the Federation in demanding a pay deal for officers that takes into account the cost of living, the Federation’s Chair has said.

This comes after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) submitted its evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body and called for a fair pay deal for officers, reflecting their unique contribution to society, the limitations on them and the real-terms pay cut over the past decade.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “I thank the NPCC for coming out with that bold statement, and our Chief Constable is 100% on the same page as us too. The thing she wants to make clear is that this pay rise needs to come, but it needs to be paid for by central Government.

“There is no point in the Government saying: ‘Let’s give police officers a 10% rise’, and then the force has to pay for it. Our force is one of the poorest-funded forces in the country and it will not be able to afford that. They’d be robbing Peter to pay Paul, so it has to come from central coffers.

“I’m totally sympathetic to her view on that one. Our Chief Constable is standing shoulder to shoulder with us regarding the need for a big pay rise for officers. She was as appalled as I was when we didn’t get a pay rise two years ago.”