The Government is using last year\u2019s police pay rise to justify underpaying and under-recognising officers this year, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Home Secretary James Cleverly has sent a letter to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) reminding it that last year it recommended \u201chistorically high pay awards\u201d and that this year it was vital that it consider the \u201cGovernment\u2019s affordability position\u201d.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cThis was my concern at the time \u2013 even though a 7% pay rise wasn\u2019t even enough, it was historically high, and I thought we\u2019d see the Government using that benchmark as a way to justify underpaying us and under-recognising us the following year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is really concerning messaging from the Government. It\u2019s political gamesmanship, and nobody is having a conversation about long-term repair to police pay decimation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said the Home Secretary\u2019s letter confirmed the importance of the Federation\u2019s vote on industrial rights, which could help redress \u201cthe absolute lottery of police pay\u201d. He added that the Federation shouldn\u2019t rejoin the PRRB until it has binding powers.<\/p>\n
Steve continued: \u201cIf we\u2019d been receiving fair pay rises the whole time, then last year\u2019s 7% would be a real positive. But all it does is keep us at pace with inflation, it totally neglects the past 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere needs to be continual wage growth to redress the balance, which would mean 7-10% for the next three years or, if it\u2019s one-off, 21%, bearing in mind inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are some of the poorest paid police officers on average in the Western world. If you look at Italy, a Western country but with a significantly weaker economy than Britain\u2019s and a lower cost of living, their police officers are paid more than us on average. It\u2019s totally unacceptable. We\u2019ve been a political pawn for too long. We need a fundamental review into police pay and conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about attracting high-quality police officers, but you\u2019ve got to pay officers the right amount to get the talent in, and to keep it. We are policing in the most unbelievably hostile climate at the minute, with portions of the media dining out on the actions of the minority. Not to mention the dangers our officers are facing. It\u2019s a thankless task.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see a real issue on the horizon where we could have significant retention problems, especially when the cost of living keeps going up and new officers may think: \u2018Why am I doing this, for this amount of money?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n