Like many of you, I am bitterly disappointed that, after long months primarily filled with waiting, police officers in Scotland face the prospect of going to pay arbitration for the first time since 2002. I know our concern extends beyond the impact on our own personal circumstances, to that felt by the women and men we lead.
I have become aware that a number of you may have been made aware of the content of the Official Side’s offer before the formal letter was sent. This is highly irregular and contrary to the integrity of the confidential process of pay negotiations. I apologise if this has made any of you feel like you have received more communication from representatives of the Official Side than your own association. Please be assured, the intention of both myself and your General Secretary has been to have due respect to the process and exercise appropriate professional discipline. It is unfortunate that this posture has not been maintained by all parties.
So, why have the Staff Side not accepted the offer of 4.75%?
Having submitted a pay claim for 5.7% back in May, the Staff Side consider this offer to be insufficient to recognise the role of police officers in society, the level of professional demand currently resting on the shoulders of officers of all ranks and the particular restrictions upon police officers by virtue of the office they hold (including the inability to take industrial action). Members will note that staff within the Scottish NHS (the largest public sector employer in Scotland) have been offered a pay rise of 5.5% (with consultants being offered 10.5%). In good faith and the spirit of negotiation, the Staff Side submitted a revised claim of 5.5%, with some changes to allowances added, however this has been met with no movement of the ‘headline’ offer of 4.75%. Simply put, we do not believe it fair the police and paramedics attending the same incidents in their respective capacities are being treated so differently in terms of their pay offer. At 40hrs per week, we work longer working weeks than most other public services, in particular I have heard loud and clear your message throughout the year about the hours that you are currently working. You are worth more, and you deserve better.
But police officers in England and Wales got a 4.75% rise?
In England and Wales, colleagues don’t have a Negotiating Board and have had a 4.75% imposed on them by their pay review body. As part of this process, every Chief Constable in E&W (and the MPS Commissioner) recommended, via the NPCC, that their officers received a 6% pay rise. Even our original claim of 5.7% was less than this and we don’t understand why our leadership and our Chief think Scottish police officers aren’t worth at least that much, or if they do think that, why they won’t say so and secure a commensurate offer?
But Scottish Government says we are the best paid Police Officers in the UK?
If you look solely at comparative salary charts, this certainly appears to be the case. However, these do not present take-home pay, which is subject to tax at lower thresholds and additional bands to police officers elsewhere in the UK. For Superintendents and Chief Superintendents this includes paying 45% on earnings above £75K, a rate that does not apply in England and Wales until you earn above £125,140. If we are the best paid, we are also the most heavily taxed. A Superintendent with 3 years’ service will pay around £2,500 more a year in income tax, compared to someone earning the same amount in England, for example.
So, what happens next?
The Police Negotiating Board Scotland meets on Thursday, I remain hopeful that there is a chance, however small of a deal being struck. If that is not possible, we will enter the arbitration process and present the case for an offer we believe to be fair. Given the unprecedented nature of that, it is not possible to say how long that will take right now. Until a deal is struck, you can expect ASPS to make the case on your behalf publicly and apply whatever moral pressure we can for an offer to be made, which the Official Side can do at any time. We will also be in touch with advice about how to safeguard your own wellbeing during this stressful time and manage any work demands that are thought to be unreasonable, while we navigate this process.
I genuinely wish I had better news for you, but I will continue to keep you updated and press for a fair settlement.