Scottisg Government accused of treating police with ‘utter contempt’ in pay row

The Scottish Government has been accused of treating police with “utter contempt” by offering officers a pay deal below that provided to NHS staff.

David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said the “final” pay offer made to police of a 4.75% rise is “not good enough”.

The Scottish Government received extra cash as a result of the UK Budget on Wednesday, so he appealed to ministers to “give our officers the pay deal they deserve.”

Without an increased pay offer, members of the SPF are set to withdraw their goodwill from 5pm on Friday in protest, with the action to continue “until further notice”.

Police are by law not permitted to go on strike, but Mr Kennedy said they could look at stepping up the action.

He said: “We are just so tired of the way we are being treated by Government, and the 4.75% offer they have come in with is not good enough.”

The SPF wants ministers to match the 5.5% pay rise given to nurses and other NHS workers in Scotland.

“All we’re asking for is a fair deal for the frontline police officers,” Mr Kennedy told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme.

“They came last week with a final pay offer which is 4.75%, so we are in the position we have no option but to raise this action.”

He said police officers “just want to do the best for the people of Scotland”, but claimed the Scottish Government and Police Scotland are showing “utter contempt against our members”.

This is “just not acceptable”, he added.

The SPF general secretary insisted the public will not be impacted when officers “withdraw goodwill”, which will involve them starting and finishing shifts on time, and not taking items such as PPE or devices which might require charging home with them.

Police officers “will make sure the public are safe”, Mr Kennedy said, adding they “wouldn’t want to see any members of the public at risk”.

But he stressed officers are “very angry” as he told how the action could be stepped up if there is no improvement to the pay deal.

“I foresee we will have further protests in the future if this isn’t fixed,” Mr Kennedy said.

“We will also be looking at what other avenues we can take with officers who volunteer for various things and whether or not they can stop volunteering.

“We have to take legal advice on a lot of these things because we don’t have industrial rights, but we just want the Scottish Government with that bit more money – and it is not a lot of money – to give our officers the pay deal they deserve.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have made what we believe to be a very fair offer of 4.75% to police officers, which is above inflation and higher than any pay increase agreed within the Scottish public sector, excluding the NHS.

“This is the maximum affordable offer in the face of public finances that remain under severe pressure.

“The process for agreeing officer pay is ongoing. Unions representing police staff are currently balloting their members and we await their outcome.

“Police officers in Scotland have consistently been the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of each rank.”

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Our officers work tirelessly every day to keep people safe across the country and it is right that their public service is recognised and rewarded.

“We know the impact that a situation like this has on our people, but are confident they will continue to demonstrate the highest levels of commitment to communities across Scotland.

“We remain absolutely committed to further discussions with the staff side as the pay claim is progressed through the police negotiating board for Scotland.”