PSC T U Side Pay Bulletin 2/2020 3 August 2020
- TRADE UNIONS SEEK IMPROVEMENT OF PAY OFFER
At a meeting on 30 July, the Police Staff Trade Unions – UNISON, Unite and GMB – agreed to go back to the Employers to seek an improvement for low paid police staff in the pay offer for 2020.
On 22 July the Employers made the following offer for the police staff 2020 pay award:
*2.5% increase on all pay points with effect from 1 September 2020
*2.5% increase on standby allowance with effect from 1 September 2020
*Without prejudice talks on police staff apprenticeship pay
The unions are seeking to improve the offer on behalf of low paid members in line with what we put in our claim.
HOW THE OFFER COMPARES TO OUR PAY CLAIM
The claim which the unions submitted back in May was for:
6.5%, or £1,200, increase in police staff pay
6.5% increase in standby allowance and away from home overnight allowance
An additional day on the minimum annual leave entitlement in the Police Staff Council Handbook
Police staff apprentices to be job evaluated and placed on the minimum pay point of the appropriate pay band
The £1,200 flat rate element of our claim was aimed at addressing the fact that the lowest pay point for police staff keeps being overtaken every year by the real living wage. This shows just how low the entry point to the police staff pay scale is. The unions are determined to address this.
WHAT WE ARE SEEKING
The unions have gone back to the Employers to ask for the following improvements to the offer:
2.5%, or £500, whichever is the greater, increase on all pay points with effect from 1 September 2020. £500 is worth more than 2.5% for all staff earning under £20,000/year
The deletion of the lowest pay point in the police staff pay scale to deal once and for all with the problem of this pay point being leap-frogged each year by the real living wage.
The Employers say in their offer letter that ‘The Employers’ Side is committed to improving low pay within the Police Staff workforce’. But they fail to back this up with anything in the offer for the low paid. This is simply not acceptable, particularly as the Home Secretary agreed to delete the lowest pay point for police sergeants this year.
NEXT STEPS
The Trade Unions have asked the Employers for an urgent meeting to continue negotiations on the offer. We hope that this can take place in the first week in August, as we know that members are keen to get their pay award as soon as possible.
We will be back in touch with you as soon as possible once the next negotiating meeting has taken place. Staffordshire Police Unison will ballot members on the final offer.