THE Police Federation should investigate reinstating industrial rights for officers if they don\u2019t receive a tangible pay rise, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
An increasing number of chief police officers, including Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, have called for a police officer pay award that takes account of the current rate of inflation. At the lowest end of the pay scale, officers have suffered a real-terms pay cut of 28.7% over the past decade.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cI really welcome the words of the Commissioner, and our Chief Constable has also communicated the real need for a pay rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s really important is that chief officers, the Police Superintendents\u2019 Association, the Federation, everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet, because we can see what\u2019s around the corner if we don\u2019t get this sorted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said that if the Government ignores the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) again, the Federation should \u201clook at other angles\u201d, including campaigning for the right to industrial action.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOur members have made it clear they want us to re-examine industrial rights if we don\u2019t get an agreeable pay deal. I have been campaigning to the national Federation that we need to explore industrial rights for officers and see if we can legally challenge that position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the chances of that are slim from what we\u2019ve seen elsewhere in Europe, but our officers feel that they\u2019ve got no voice and the only way that they\u2019re going to get that voice is by exhausting every option they can.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows the Government and the public the strength of feeling and disharmony among officers at the moment. If we don\u2019t get a good, tangible pay rise, I think we\u2019re going to have absolutely no choice but to go down that route and to ask that legal question yet again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot emphasise enough the strength of feeling out there among officers who are totally fed up with being overlooked when it comes to fair pay.\u201d<\/p>\n