Police Federation warning over pay increase for NI officers

The Federation say officers will not get a pay increase in their September payslips because there are no NI Ministers in place.

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland is calling on the Secretary of State James Brokenshire to take action to deliver a pay award to thousands of officers in Northern Ireland.

The UK Government said on Tuesday that the public sector pay cap was to be scrapped.

The announcement means prison officers and polices officers in England and Wales will get a 1% pay rise and 1% bonus.

However, the Police Federation is warning that with no Ministers in position in Northern Ireland, pay parity cannot be taken for granted.

PFNI Chairman, Mark Lindsay, said: “Much to our disgust and disappointment there has been no such award relating to Police Officer pay for Northern Ireland."

“The sole reason for this is the absence of a devolved administration, which requires consideration for any recommendations by both a Justice Minister and a Finance Minister. In addition, there is currently no legislative process in place in Northern Ireland to sign off any element of an award.”

Mr Lindsay continued: “In the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive, we have written to the Secretary of State urging him to enact legislation which enables critical decisions pertinent to the effective running of Northern Ireland to be taken in the absence of local Ministers. We would also seek assurances that any increase for officers in Northern Ireland be backdated to the 1st September 2017.”

The Federation said it will continue to pursue all avenues to ensure that the recommendations of the Pay Review Body for Northern Ireland are implemented “without any undue delays.”