Stormont ministers urged to sort out overdue pay rise for Northern Ireland's police officers 'without further delay'
Police officers in Northern Ireland must get an overdue pay rise without further delay – and be treated “fairly and decently” by Stormont ministers, the Police Federation has said.
The organisation’s chair Liam Kelly has written to executive ministers saying that its members have “real doubts” about whether they will get an uplift due in their September pay packet.
It comes amid uncertainty for a range of public sector workers, with Stormont’s official opposition warning last week that it is now too late for a pay deal to feature in the Christmas wages of civil servants.
The SDLP opposition chief Matthew O’Toole described it as “the cost of the executive’s failure to govern”.
Ministers have failed to agree a budget, amid ongoing cross-party demands for more money from Westminster to help local ministers balance their books.
Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has insisted there is no more cash on offer than the £1.5billion currently on the table. However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson last week welcomed what he described as a “sense of realism” from the UK Government, and suggested closing of the funding gap could give Stormont ministers a “fighting chance” to balance its budget.
Now, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) has sought assurances from local ministers on the police pay rise.
Liam Kelly has written to ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive demanding a pay increase that his organisation says 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.”
Executive departments have been operating without a budget since the beginning of the current financial year in April, and are currently only allowed to spend up to 95% of last year’s funding - insisted they cannot strike a budget without additional cash.