Federation Vote On Industrial Rights

It is important that the Police Federation vote on pursuing industrial rights is carried out as quickly as possible, the Chair of Hampshire Police Federation has said.

The national Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has said that seeking industrial rights for police officers will be a two-stage process. First, the views of members will be sought on whether they want the organisation to pursue collective bargaining rights along with binding arbitration.

PFEW will then return to the membership to find out if there is a desire to pursue further industrial rights, for example the right to take industrial action. The decision will be made through a simple majority vote.

Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “I’d like to see this moving at a faster pace, because when that vote has happened, if we get a mandate from the membership, that is going to really assist us in our discussions with the Home Office around the Police Remuneration Review Body. But I’m glad that this time it will be a simple majority vote, it’s best not to over-complicate it.”

PFEW’s Deputy National Secretary, Gemma Fox, said of the vote: “It is important we scope our membership on what they feel police pay should look like in the future. We are keen to take our membership’s mandate on whether they would like to see collective bargaining with binding arbitration brought back on the table, and if achieved, should wider industrial rights be pursued as the organisation’s policy position.”