By james art The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents more than 16,500 rank-and-file officers, said it would start at 5pm on Friday and continue “until further notice”.
Police officers in Scotland are prohibited by law from striking, but can choose to withdraw goodwill or work to rule as a means of expressing dissatisfaction.
In this case, the actions would include police officers starting and ending shifts at their scheduled times and not taking any part of the PPE with them after a shift.
They also include officers not taking “ancillary items” of equipment home with them, with the SPF saying officers cannot afford the extra cost of charging electronic items at home.
In a letter to the chief constable published on the SPF website, SPF general secretary David Kennedy said the decision to formally withdraw goodwill was not “taken lightly”.
“This is due to the sheer frustration and strength of our members’ sense of the utter contempt this pay proposal represents for them,” he said.
“Police officers feel completely undervalued by the service and this is evident from surveys carried out over the last six months by both Police Scotland and the SPF.
“SPF has consistently demonstrated a willingness to negotiate a fair pay agreement for our members and still remains open to a fair pay offer before conciliation or arbitration is concluded.”
Scottish Conservative Party justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: “This action highlights that the relationship between the SNP Government and hardworking staff has hit rock bottom.
“Given that they can’t legally go on strike, this is the most powerful step they can take to show how angry they are.
“It’s no wonder they’ve reached breaking point given the SNP’s ongoing cuts to the police budget, which have left staff numbers at their lowest level since the SNP came to power in 2007.
“This should be an urgent wake-up call for SNP ministers to stop treating police officers with such contempt.”
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Spears said: “Our officers work tirelessly every day to keep people safe across the country and it is only right that their public service should be recognized and rewarded.
“We know the impact that a situation like this has on our people, but we are confident that they will continue to demonstrate the highest levels of commitment to communities across Scotland.
“We remain absolutely committed to further discussions with staff as the pay claim progresses through the Police Bargaining Council for Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have made what we believe is a very fair offer of 4.75% for police officers, which is above inflation and higher than any pay rise agreed in the Scottish public sector, except for the NHS .
“This is the most affordable offer in the face of public finances, which remain under serious pressure.
“The process of negotiating the salary of the employees continues.
“The unions representing police staff are currently electing their members and we await the outcome from them.
“Police officers in Scotland have always been the highest paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of every rank.”