Unions representing police staff, including control room
operatives, 999 calls handlers and forensic specialists, have
written to the home secretary asking her to urgently reconsider the decision to
impose a pay freeze on the majority of police staff this year.
In July, the Police Staff Council decided that police staff
earning over £24,000 a year would have their pay frozen for
2021/22, with those earning below that figure receiving an
increase of just £250 a year.
In their letter, the unions highlight that police staff are the
only group of emergency responders to have had a pay freeze
imposed on them. NHS emergency responders have been offered a
three per cent pay increase, while firefighters will receive a
1.5 per cent pay rise.
Police staff, who continued to work throughout the pandemic,
often in very difficult and trying conditions, are particularly
incensed at the pay freeze after the home secretary wrote to them
last November thanking them for their “tireless work” and
describing “control room staff in particular as the unsung heroes
of the crisis”.
The letter to Ms Patel states: “Not surprisingly, our members now
wonder what has happened to the government’s sense of gratitude
for the work they carry out 24/7 to keep our communities safe.
Put simply, thanks won’t pay the bills.
Unite national officer Jim Kennedy said: “Police staff have
constantly gone the extra mile to keep the general public safe
throughout the pandemic. To reward that dedication with a pay
freeze is deeply insulting.
“Workers in the other emergency services will receive a pay
increase this year and the government has a moral duty to reverse
this grossly unfair decision and deliver a pay increase for
police staff.”
UNISON national officer for police staff Ben Priestley said:
“Those working for the police service have been singled out by
the government to be the only emergency service personnel denied
a pay rise this year.
“This decision isn’t right, fair or decent. Police staff deserve
a pay award.”
George Georgiou, GMB national officer, said: "The absolute
hypocrisy of this government is truly shocking.
"Damning us with faint praise on the one hand whilst reducing our
take home pay with the other.
"Nothing but a substantial above inflation pay rise will suffice
given the sacrifices police staff have made throughout the
pandemic - on top of 10 years of needless austerity.
"Police staff anger has never been greater while morale has never
been lower. They deserve better."
With the RPI inflation rate for July being recorded at 3.8 per
cent, the pay freeze is a very substantial cut in real terms for
police staff.
