Industrial Rights Vote A ‘Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity’

The police vote on industrial rights is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and it’s important that officers engage in the process, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The national Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has said that seeking industrial rights for police officers will be a two-stage process. First, the views of members will be sought on whether they want the organisation to pursue collective bargaining rights along with binding arbitration.

PFEW will then return to the membership to find out if there is a desire to pursue further industrial rights, for example the right to take industrial action. The decision will be made through a simple majority vote.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent is on the local working group, and has been vocal about the need for a vote on the issue for many years. He said: “I want to reassure our colleagues that this vote isn’t going away. There may be slight delays to when the vote is taking place, but that is purely for logistical reasons. I’m involved in the working group here, so I can say that this is not a case of ‘if’ this is happening, this is a case of ‘when’ this is happening.

“We need to absolutely get this right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to have a meaningful vote on industrial rights, and it has never come at a better time.

“It’s good that it’s going to be a simple majority vote, and that’s something we campaigned for. One of my criticisms of the last vote was it was too complex. It’s my job as Federation Chair to make sure that as many cops as possible vote, whether it’s yes or no. I’m going around the force to talk to cops and ask them to engage with this issue, and we should achieve a good turnout on the day.”