12 June 2008
In brief
The High Court has rejected a bid by police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to have a pay award of 2.5% backdated to September 2007. The police, who were given 14 days to appeal the ruling, had said that the home secretary had acted unlawfully in delaying the pay award following a recommendation by an independent arbitration panel. In his judgment, Lord Justice Keene said the police were “deprived of the most powerful weapon normally available to a group of working people, the ability to withdraw their labour, when it comes to seeking to protect or improve their pay and working conditions”.
