A letter urging the Chancellor to give police officers a proper pay rise this year has been given the full backing of Staffordshire Police Federation.
National Federation secretary Alex Duncan has written to Rishi Sunak warning that any pay increase below the rate of inflation would be another insult to members.
He said police officers had suffered real-terms pay cuts for years and that many were now struggling to make ends meet.
Staffordshire Police Federation secretary Glyn Pattinson said issues around officer pay were having a huge impact on morale across the Force and said the Government had to take action to redress the balance.
He said: “I hear MPs are getting a nice pay rise which has been justified because their duties have dramatically increased so I can only presume the extra workload shouldered by our members will be recognised in the same way.
“Throughout the pandemic, police officers were on the frontline, helping ensure people observed the Government guidelines, supporting measures to protect the NHS and putting their own health and safety on the line while doing so.
“In addition to their usual work, serving and protecting their communities, fighting and preventing crime and keeping order, they stepped up to the mark to carry out duties that they could never have expected to take on.
“They deserve to be respected, recognised and properly rewarded for the work they do so we are 100 per cent behind the Police Federation’s calls for a fair pay increase this time.”
In his letter to the Chancellor, Alex said police officers had faced increasing workloads and a real-terms pay cut of 20 per cent since 2010 and that there was now little difference between the hourly wage of a new starter and the national living wage.
He warned that evidence suggested this was having a crippling effect on morale across the police service.
Alex highlighted the recent Police Federation pay and morale survey which found 92 per cent of members felt they were not fairly paid for the stresses and strains of their job, and 67 per cent said that they would not recommend joining the police to others.
He wrote: “We’re asking that you use the Spring Statement to guarantee a real-terms pay increase for our members this year.
“With morale so low this matters hugely for the ability of police forces to recruit and retain the skilled officers they need over the coming years.
“The Prime Minister was elected on a promise to recruit additional officers. Without further action on pay, experienced officers will leave inexperienced recruits replacing them at best; and at worst, your Government’s recruitment target to recruit an additional 20,000 officers over three years will be missed entirely.
“It matters what kind of officers we’re able to recruit – we want the brightest and best to want to join the police – in service of their communities.
“But this won’t be possible if potential new joiners believe police pay doesn’t fairly reflect the demands of the job.”
Alex said the Police Federation welcomed the announcement that the public sector pay freeze was coming to end but warned any pay increase below the rate of inflation would be an insult to members.
He wrote: “A decade of real-terms pay cuts has done damage to our police forces. Guaranteeing a real-terms pay increase for our members would show you’re finally treating officers with the respect that the British public demand and that they deserve.”
