It has already been announced that there will be a freeze on pay for the next two years. The cuts will almost certainly come in the form of cuts in overtime and allowances and an increase in pension contributions. It has been leaked that there will be a recommendation for an increase in pension contributions from 11% t 14%. The press are forever slating the public sector and particularly the police for their pensions. No mention that we pay through the nose for it. Currently 11%, I don't know of any other organisation that pays anything like that.
It also seems likely that allowances such as housing allowance, South East and Met allowance and Special Priority Payments will be cut or abolished. I won't explain all of these but suffice to say if they are abolished and pension contributions are increased officers could lose up to £6000 a year.
Finally, it seems likely that overtime payments will be cut. Forget what you have heard in the tabloid press. General overtime is paid at time and a third, cancelled rest days less than 15 days are paid at time and a half and cancelled rest days and bank holidays are paid at double time. For the inconvenience to officers private lives this is fair. Too much overtime is paid because of managers lack of planning. If officers private lives can be mucked around with almost no penalty to the organisation then poor planning will be encouraged and officers private lives put in even more turmoil. This will have devastating effects on morale and productivity.
I don't expect any sympathy with regard to this subject. I would merely like to state (as have other police bloggers) that the risks around this are that we will go back to the 1970's, pre the Edmund Davies review of police pay and conditions. Like MP's jobs, there will always be candidates for the role of constable, but the quality will be very poor as it was in the 70's. The consequences partly led to the riots of the early 80's. And when the next lot of protests regarding student loans and cuts takes place, don't be surprised if there is a shortage of police. When officers get a phone call at home and are expected to drop everything and go to work with no recompense, they won't answer the phone or will say sorry, been drinking cannot help.
It should also be remembered that the police by law cannot take industrial action and to incite it is a criminal offence. The police deserve to be treated with respect and rewarded for this restriction on their working conditions. It appears that the Government, having only recently suggested they would give us the right to take industrial action, have decided that they will continue to withhold that right but have no regard to it when considering pay and conditions. I wonder what would happen if every firearms officer who voluntarily holds a weapon protecting Prime Ministers, Home Secretary's and Royalty, handed in their weapons and left them to it?
inciaThe firearms officer option sounds delicious if push comes to shove....see how the politicos mix with the masses then. They like to run things as a 'business' now, take them at their word
ReplyDeletezorro
i've heard pension/health care contributions in the private sector are usually 50%, how come public workers are paying only 3-15% (depending on the organization)? What would be the effect if police/fire workers began to pay 50% into their pensions and health care?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 6th March. This is complete bunkum. No one in the private sector pays anything like that. The public sector get a good pension deal but pay dearly for it. Very few get any sort of healthcare benefits. The whinging press and private sector often benefit from non contributory pension schemes and private healthcare. The only people putting 50% into pension funds are a few highly paid people in the private sector who don't pay tax on those contributions and get pensions that dwarf anything in the public sector.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the Home Office think police are zombies...so why pay them at all? Sounds crazy? Well, no it seems.Here is a bit of policing and criminology mythbusting to set the proverbial cat amongst the Whitehall mandarins:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bestthinking.com/articles/science/social_sciences/sociology/the-problem-of-zombie-cops-in-voodoo-criminology-a-27-year-old-myth-about-beat-patrol-policing-is-busted
My heart bleeds for you. Nah, it doesn't. Try thinking about Her Britanic Majesty's Armed Forces and their pay and conditions. They don't get overtime nor subsidised housing if they live off base.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, police, firefighters, nurses, paramedics, coastguard etc, you're All paid a lot more than the average Squaddie and without doubt have far superior working conditions. I could go on but I can't be bothered with wimps.
Even without the police, 'important' people will be well protected. You may be sure that they will fix themselves up with bodyguards of well-armed thugs, who will be able to massacre anyone who gets in the way, and be covered by special legislation.
ReplyDeleteIt's only the public who will suffer, but who cares about us? The public exists merely to pay taxes.
The cover stories about 'public service' are wearing thin.
The politicians know they are there for what they can get. Your bosses have the same realization.
If the police stop working and the public gets killed and eaten by chavs; no one important will really care, but their public relations staff will shed lots of crocodile tears for the benefit of the media,
Talking to one our Fed reps i questioned the sheep like attitude of the Fed and why they were not more vocal to put some counter (truth) to the Home Office led attacks, the answer is the press will not run them. We are well and truly screwed.
ReplyDeleteRight time to see what second job i can get to cover the 5k pay cut once my rent allowance and comp grant are taken away.
It all started in America...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blacklistednews.com/index.php?news_id=12963
Squaddies? They are paid well for there skills. They are generally un educated men and women who find santuary within the army. The police 'police' with a huge difference. Once you learn and appreciate this please come and speak to us 'wimps'. Oh by the way when you get robbed or assaulted outside mcdonalds on a saturday after a night on the pop in the cheap pubs, who has to clean up your mess?
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