The Police Federation, the nearest thing to a Union that rank and file Police Officers are permitted to have, have voted by a majority of almost 90% to lobby Parliament for greater fairness in their pay negotiations. They want the findings of an independent police arbitration tribunal to be binding. And, failing that, the right to protest against any decisions which contravene these findings via a number of channels. Seems fair enough.
The Act of Parliament which prevents officers from going on strike was enacted following a 1918 strike when officers had marched on Downing Street. And at the same point, the union representing the officers was disbanded. That's right, the Government were forced to pay a reasonable wage and so they dismantled the mechanism that compelled them to do so.
The police, along with nurses and the armed forces, are barred from going on strike. They are also paid far below the market rate for jobs of similar complexity and impact upon society as a whole. If you're going to stop a section of society from protesting because they have such high-impact jobs, then you should at least try to ensure that they have nothing to protest about. Particularly if you are a serving the country in the name of the Labour party.
It is a ridiculous state of affairs that the Police Federation has been pushed into this corner. The Government's offer of a wage increase was rejected as it amounted to just 1.9% and the debate was moved to arbitration, where the tribunal set a figure and ordered that it be backdated. The Government refused to follow the recommendation. This begs the question ‘what is the bloody point of going to a tribunal in the first place?'
If the Government are going to treat arbitration the way that Mugabe treats an election, then the Police Federation must find another means to find a fair resolution. Even if this means having the power to threaten a strike. The Government have acted in bad faith and who can blame the Police Federation if they have no trust in them?
