THE decision to delay the 2017 police officer pay award arguably shows the contempt the police service is held in by the Home Office.<\/p>\n
The police officer pay rise award announcement for officers in England and Wales \u2013 ordinarily made in July – will not now be made until September, the Government has confirmed. \u201cI think it\u2019s a really poor excuse to say it\u2019s a bit busy and can\u2019t squeeze it in,\u201d Federation Chairman Steve Taylor said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cBearing in mind everything officers have gone through recently. The three big terrorist attacks. How we were stretched and stretched and stretched. The cynic in me thinks it\u2019s nice to create a bit of time, to create a bit of distance between those events in the public memory, so if the Government turn around and say, \u2018No, they are just having 1%\u2019, the backlash won\u2019t be as severe as it would be if they were to announce that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Police Federation of England and Wales and the Superintendents\u2019 Association have once again asked for a pay increase of 2.8% for all police officers.<\/p>\n
Steve added: \u201cWhy is it acceptable for the Government just to turn round and put it on the backburner because they\u2019ve got a bit on at the moment?<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are we thought of in the Government if they\u2019re just happy to postpone a decision and put it on the backburner? And let\u2019s not forget, we\u2019ve been in this position before \u2013 in 2007 –\u00a0 when the Labour Government at the time refused to backdate a pay rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am afraid it does build in more cynicism and more scepticism around what the pay review decision will be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"