If the Prime Minister blocks pay rises for police officers it would be an \u201cabsolute betrayal\u201d and officers will leave the service, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
According to The Times, Rishi Sunak has said he is prepared to overrule independent pay review bodies for police, teachers and junior doctors, amid concerns that 6% pay rises could fuel inflation.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cTo be perfectly blunt, after the slap in the face of what happened in 2021 when we didn\u2019t get a pay rise, this will be an absolute betrayal by the Government. It would be unacceptable and I think we may start to see police officers voting with their feet. That will have a direct knock-on effect on the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the catastrophic financial decisions made by the Government in recent times, to take this out on public-service workers who are working so hard would be unforgivable.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Steve said that it was nothing new for the Government to ignore the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB).<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is nothing new for us \u2013 it\u2019s a constant threat. Because the PRRB is not truly independent and it doesn\u2019t have the power to mandate the Government to give us a pay rise based on its recommendations, the Government has previously overruled them and can do that at will.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil that is changed, there is absolutely no point in the process. It is almost a tokenistic gesture to give the illusion of transparency and fairness, which is not there. The Government set its mandate, the Government can overrule it, so what is the point?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we are already looking at a lot of people who are reconsidering their position within policing. Our police officers, as I\u2019ve found from my research, are the poorest-paid police officers in the G7. Food banks are being used by officers who are on the breadline and are really struggling. Officers can\u2019t afford to do this job anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd why would they, for the stress, the scrutiny, the risk of assault, the risk of litigation? I think we may start to see an acceleration of people leaving the organisation. In our force, the attrition rate isn\u2019t particularly bad at the moment. But people\u2019s mortgages will be going up by \u00a3200 a month on average, and officers are going to come to the position where they can\u2019t afford to do this job.\u201d<\/p>\n