South Yorkshire Police Federation has been at the forefront of pushing for a ballot on industrial rights, its Chair has said.<\/p>\n
Steve Kent was speaking after the national Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) voted to ballot members on whether the organisation should pursue industrial rights on behalf of its membership. The decision was made at PFEW\u2019s National Council meeting on 20 June, and the Board will now explore what industrial rights could mean for members.<\/p>\n
Steve said: \u201cIt\u2019s fair to say that South Yorkshire Police Federation has been at the forefront of this from the very start. I raised this a couple of years ago in National Council, and I have been passionate about the cause ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have a lot of support in the room back then, but we are so pleased that this has gone over the line now, because it\u2019s absolutely vital that our members get the right to have an informed decision on this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government has ridden roughshod over us and, without us at least seeking industrial rights, they\u2019re going to continue to do so. There needs to be a line in the sand, we need to get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said he wasn\u2019t too worried about industrial rights making it easier for police officers to be made redundant, especially in the current recruitment crisis.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI keep hearing the rhetoric about, \u2018Well, the Government could make police officers redundant if we got industrial rights\u2019. Well, frankly, it could do that anyway if it changes the law tomorrow. Actually, this is a way of safeguarding officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve emphasised that officers needed to know all about the pros and cons of industrial rights, and that the ballot itself needed to be quick and simple for officers to vote in.<\/p>\n