The government needs to come up with the cash to fund a
decent pay rise for police staff this year or jobs and
services will be cut, the GMB, UNISON and Unite have warned today
(Monday).
Police employers have said that without extra money from
the Home Office, they are not in a position to make a pay offer
this year for police community support officers, 999 call
handlers, investigators or the many other police staff in England
and Wales.
The pay award announced last month for police officers – of
a 1% pay rise and a 1% bonus – is not backed with extra
resources. Police employers say there is no point discussing the
pay of police staff unless ministers make more funding
available.
UNISON national officer for police Ben
Priestley said: “Police forces are a team.
Detectives couldn’t track down dangerous criminals without all
the PCSOs, crime scene investigators, clerks and other essential
staff who work alongside them. It would be totally unacceptable
for police staff to get less than officers.
“The recent police officer pay award have might broken
through the 1% cap, but it still came in way below the cost of
living. A decent pay rise is long overdue for everyone who works
for the police service.
“The Home Office is expecting police forces to find the
money for the wage rise from existing budgets. That can only mean
more job losses and station closures. The government must dig
deep and come up with the cash to fund pay properly. Otherwise
the only winners will be those that seek to break the law or
bring terror to our communities.”
GMB national office for police staff Kevin
Brandstatter said: “Police staff who protect our
communities and keep our streets safe – responding to serious and
traumatic incidents such as the Grenfell fire and terrorist
attacks in London and Manchester – have already lost thousands
because of the government’s seven year pinch on their pay.
"The continued failure to make a pay offer demonstrates a
fundamental lack of respect for police staff and has caused
months of unnecessary uncertainty. GMB research shows police
staff suffering from overwork and stress, to the extent that some
were asking their own parents for help with the costs of feeding
and clothing their children. It's not acceptable.
“The government's faffing and flailing has further delayed
progress. Ministers' desperate promises to pay for peanuts pay
rises for a small minority and to fund them with cuts to front
line services – has knocked a hole in budgets, adding insult to
injury. It’s high time all police staff received a decent and
funded pay rise. We expect progress when talks resume later this
month.”
Unite national officer Jim
Kennedy said: “We cannot have a situation where the
government is robbing Peter to pay Paul and dictating which
public servants are deserving and underserving of a pay
rise.
“Government ministers need to ensure that police officers,
police staff and PCSOs all get the decent pay rise they need and
the public the service they deserve, by providing additional
funding to end the last seven years of pay misery.”
Notes to editors:
- Police staff account for 40% of the total police workforce in
England and Wales.
