Yet again this is a kick in the teeth for hard working Bedfordshire Police Officers and their families. The Home Secretary, on the floor of our National conference, only last May endorsed his support for policing. He did the same again at our recent National Bravery Awards but it is clear some in the Home Office do not share the Home Secretary’s support when it comes to paying us fairly. It cannot be right that the Government just ignore the decision of PRRB, a decision that is evidence based, transparent and above all else fair. How much more can this Government ask of our Police Officers who every day put themselves in harm’s way to keep the public safe?
The Government must honour the PRRB (an independent group which advises the government on police pay) process which is based on evidence – we asked for 3.4% so that officers could be paid fairly for the dangerous job they do after years of austerity. The PRRB recommended a total of 3%. It Government who has ignored the recommendations for the second year running.
The so-called 2% rise will actually leave officers financially worse off and is worth only an 0.85% increase in real terms. This works out to about £10 a week!
In real terms police officer pay has now decreased by around 18% since 2009/10.
