South Yorkshire police boss slams further pay freeze for police staff

The announcement follows the Government’s decision to freeze the pay of police officers – a move which provoked outcry among serving officers and the public alike.

Dr Billings has slammed the proposals as an unfair response following a difficult year for police as they got to grips with ever-changing pandemic rules.

He said: “I recently made it clear that, in my view, the decision by the Home Secretary to freeze the pay of police officers was a poor reward for all they had done over the last year and a half to keep us safe during some of the worst months of the pandemic. That was a view shared almost universally by police and crime commissioners.

“As a result of that decision, the employers of police staff – Home Office, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, National Police Chiefs Council – have felt unable to do anything other than offer the same freeze to staff.

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“This does not feel like a genuine negotiation and with inflation now at 3.9 per cent it represents a real terms cut in pay.

“We undervalue the work of police staff whose work is largely unseen. But like the engine room of a ship, without their work the vessel cannot move.

“I urge the government to think again: to reward officers and allow a proper negotiation for staff.”

Dr Billings also pointed out that the freeze in pay for police comes as Fire and Rescue workers receive a 1.5 per cent pay rise and some NHS employees receive a rise of three per cent.

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However, both of these pay rises are also in reality pay cuts as both fall below the Bank of England’s projected 3.9 per cent inflation rate. The NHS pay rise also did not apply to some staff who have worked during the pandemic, including junior doctors.

Unions representing NHS staff and Fire and Rescue staff have also slammed the offers.

A spokesperson for the GMB union said that the proposed rise for NHS staff was universally opposed across medical professions.