POLICE OFFICERS in England and Wales, who are already facing a two-year pay freeze, have been warned by British home secretary Theresa May that overtime pay rates and allowances will be cut, leaving open the prospect of major industrial trouble within the police as it faces into a summer of protests against spending cuts.
In a speech in London, Ms May said “the terms and conditions of all officers” would have to be reformed if major job losses among police officers were to be avoided, although a number of forces had already announced plans to retire older officers and sack community police staff in an effort to curb budgets.
“No home secretary wants to cut police officers’ pay packages. But with a record budget deficit, these are extraordinary circumstances. We are taking action right across the board to find savings and efficiencies in all aspects of policing,” she said.
She added: “But we cannot avoid the fact that changes to pay and conditions have to be part of the package.”
Under the law, police cannot go on strike, but they successfully fought off efforts by then Conservative prime minister John Major to cut back on their allowances and overtime rates in the early 1990s, while Labour’s home secretary Jacqui Smith had to backtrack on plans to avoid paying a increase that was due after 20,000 officers marched in London.
Currently, police are able to claim four hours of overtime if they answer work telephone calls between their shifts, while some are able to claim an extra £185 if they are sent to support a neighbouring force.
Officers get double time, along with a day off in lieu, if they receive less than eight days’ notice that they will have to work on a bank holiday.
They get double time if they get less than five days’ notice of an unrostered shift.
A report from the former rail regulator Tom Winsor, concentrating on overtime and allowances, is due to be published early next week, but Ms May’s decision to make her speech yesterday is being taken as clear evidence that she wants to move quickly to implement his recommendations.
Her speech provoked an immediate and angry reaction from police representatives, with Peter Smyth of the Metropolitan Police Federation saying officers in London would “not take a review of pay and conditions lying down”.
Saying that Ms May “clearly undervalues” the police, despite her claims to the contrary, Simon Reed of the Police Federation said officers have already accepted that they will lose out on £350 million because of the two-year pay freeze: “That’s a considerable sacrifice. Officers and their families are making that sacrifice. Whatever other cuts come on top of that will have an adverse effect on morale.”
Ms May’s declarations highlight the increasing temperature of the debate surrounding the impact of spending cuts, following a week when dozens of councils met to agree budgets.
In London alone, local authorities have announced £1 billion worth of cuts.