IN the run up to the budget police staff and officers were told they would have to accept a 0% pay freeze.
And while the Chancellor tried to fool the public with a partial pay U-turn, he refused to bring in any pay rise before this winter's crippling fuel bills hit hard working staff, or to say if he will match rising inflation rates.
Over the course of this year I have led talks between PCCs nationally and the Home Office, but have now told the Home Secretary that if ministers won’t stand by our workers then there is no point negotiating with her.
Police staff have previously been the only group of emergency responders to have had a pay freeze imposed on them.
We absolutely want to see an end to the pay freezes, especially to police staff, who have suffered a kick in the teeth when left out of previous pay rise announcements.
We cannot wait until next year, these staff and officers are people who got us through a pandemic, they put their families at risk, and they did it for us.
And I'm proud to be supported in my decision by UNISON.
Regional secretary Clare Williams said: “If the chancellor doesn’t allocate extra money to government departments to fund the much-needed wage rises, the pay freeze will continue in all but name.”
“There’s never a good time to freeze public sector pay. Doing so at the peak of a pandemic was the height of folly.
“Staff were doing their all to keep under-pressure services running, and ministers looked like they didn’t care.
“There can be no decent public services without the people to run them. Pay freezes don’t help employers hold on to experienced staff, nor attract new recruits."
That's why I resigned in writing as the lead negotiator for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners regarding staff pay.