Cambridgeshire Police Federation is backing calls for the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) to be allowed to operate without Government influence.
The calls come after analysis of the recently-announced police pay award for 2022/23 found most officers will once again be left out of pocket despite claims of an average five per cent uplift.
The Police Federation said it wanted the PRRB independence to be upheld so it could formulate a fair pay mechanism which includes the P-factor payment exclusive to policing to ensure members are paid fairly for the risks they take.
Cambridgeshire Police Federation chair Liz Groom said she fully supported the calls which come in the wake of the latest pay deal.
She said: “After the Federation gave a very cautious welcome to this pay award, it has become quite clear that the increases will not even begin to ease the cost of living crisis for our members.
“Police officers have been subjected to real terms cuts and pay freezes over the last decade and unfortunately none of this was taken into account when the latest settlement was worked out.
“Put crudely, it is too little, too late and comes as yet another slap in the face for our hard-working members, many of whom are really struggling financially as a result of the cost of living crisis and rising inflation.
“And, of course, unlike their colleagues in other public sector professions, police officers are not allowed to take industrial action to highlight the huge concerns they have over pay.”
The Home Office was quick to issue an upbeat statement on how the Government had recognised concerns around the rising cost of living pressures and was targeting wider support to those most in need in its public sector pay round.
It claimed the pay award was equivalent to five per cent overall but the Police Federation said soaring rates of inflation meant in real terms, the offer amounted to another divisive pay cut across the ranks.
The Police Federation calculations point to a 30.3 per cent real terms pay cut for constables at the bottom pay point of the pay scale and an 18.5 per cent real terms pay cut for constables at the top pay point of the pay scale.
For sergeants at the top point of the pay scale, the estimated real terms pay drop will be 18.9 per cent. For inspectors at the top of the pay scale, the real terms pay drop will be 19.5 per cent, and for chief inspectors at the top point of the pay scale the real terms pay drop will be 19.7 per cent.
National Federation chair Steve Hartshorn insisted members deserved proper recognition for the dangers they were exposed to and the increasing workload detectives manage to keep crime at bay.
He said: “Police officers do not look for praise from the Government, they want the Government to be sensitive about their contributions to their communities and sacrifices made in the line of duty to protect the public.
“We seek assurances from the Government that next year the PRRB will not be restrained by an unfair remit set by the Home Office, and that the unsustainable real terms pay cut is addressed to ensure our members can afford to do the job they signed up for.”