PSA National Secretary Dan Murphy has commented on the report of the Police Remuneration Review Body published on Wednesday 21st July:
“We are deeply concerned over the government’s continued devaluing of the police workforce, demonstrated once again by its total disregard of the need for a fair and independent pay process.
“The government decided that there would be a public sector pay freeze long before it took account of any evidence submitted to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB), which was not given permission to make recommendations on this year’s pay uplift. This calls into question the value our country’s leaders place upon fair reward for our police officers.
“It is incomprehensible that there can be a publicised national commitment to the creation of a Police Covenant, designed to provide ‘comprehensive, meaningful and lasting support to those working in policing’, whilst simultaneously preventing thousands of police officers from receiving fair pay that is decided by a fair process and that keeps apace with the basic cost of living.
“No one in policing enters the profession to reap financial reward. It is a vocation and a career that provides challenge and demands sacrifice like no other – something clearly demonstrated amidst the pandemic. Similarly, no one in policing would wish to benefit as a result of Covid-19, and we recognise that the economic impact is a shared national burden. However, with very little employment rights, it is essential that police officers have fair and transparent processes in place to determine their pay, and that they have a clear voice within this. Currently, the government is disregarding these processes, making decisions around pay in advance of the comprehensive evidence and insight it requests from stakeholders right across the Service.
“The PRRB itself has echoed these concerns, stating that it is “disappointing” that the pandemic has been allowed to affect the independence of the review body process, again preventing its ability to fully exercise its role.
“Currently, we have no procedural justice when it comes to pay and police officers are not being heard. This can’t continue and we will be working with other staff associations to determine a way forward.”
