PFNI Chair seeks assurances from Ministers on police pay rise

The Chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland Liam Kelly has written to Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive seeking assurances that officers here will get the pay increase that is overdue.

Mr Kelly said: “Our men and women have real doubts over their pay rise which should have been in their September payslips. Their increase is inextricably linked to the pay deal signed off earlier this Summer for counterparts in England and Wales.

“Our colleagues there received 3.5% and the expectation was that they, too, would receive a similar uplift. However, without a Northern Ireland Budget, and wholesale political stagnation, the worry is the increase will be delayed for months to come.

“There is an even worse scenario and that is a pay freeze because the Department of Justice cannot afford it. This would represent a break with pay parity and an intolerable situation for police families who are not shielded from the cost-of-living crisis.

“Ministers need to put their squabbles to one side and focus their efforts on doing what’s right for police officers and all public servants. In my letter to Ministers, I’ve said how this Federation believes that a 3.5% increase is insufficient when one considers how police pay has been eroded over the past decade or so. 

“In past years, my colleagues have had to wait five, six, even seven months for their pay uplift to be implemented. This disrespects them and is wholly unacceptable. Things have to change. I want assurances from Ministers that police pay will be sorted out without further delay.

“Officers do an exceptional job but too often it’s without acknowledgement or financial reward. They expect to be treated fairly and decently and not used as a political football.”