PAY increases of 6.5% for Britain's 140,000 police officers are
expected to be triggered by the release today of the May average
earnings figures, leaving the Government with the dilemma of whether to
sanction its 14th inflation-breaking rise in 15 years.
In fact the situation is even worse than it first appears because
coming on top of last year's 8.5% increase, a 6.5% rise payable from
September under a 14-year-old formula linking their pay to increases in
gross average earnings, would be worth 7.3% for the 1992-3 pay year and
would take their aggregate increases for the past five years to 51%.
Last week, the Cabinet decided to restrict senior civil servants,
Judges and armed forces leaders to a 4% increase this year even though
an independent review body had recommended 19.7%. Ministers have also
been urging pay restraint in the private sector, especially in the
newly-privatised industries, although with little success.
A report published today by the Public Finance Foundation describes
the development of a ''two-tier'' public service developing with police
firmly in the favoured tier. Town hall staff, local government manual
workers, civil servants and now the so-called ''top people'' have or are
expected to be held down to about 4%.
Mr Chris Trinder, the foundation's research director, commented that
police had a rise of 9.25% in 1989 and 9.75% in 1990 when most public
servants had to settle for about 7% each year. Last year, they got 8.5%
when then going rate was 6%.
A 6.5% increase would mean the pay of a top of scale constable going
up from #19,674 to #20,953.
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