BTPF History
The British Transport Police
By now the police forces inherited by the railway, docks and inland waterway executives had been welded into the 3,700 strong British Transport Police. The Transport Act of 1947 required the setting up of a British Transport Police Conference consisting of an equal number of British Transport Commission and of members of the police forces or the Commission.
All questions relating to the rates of pay, hours of duty and conditions of service of the members of those forces were to be referred to it, and in the event of disagreement, an independent chairman with power to give binding decisions was to be appointed.
An agreement was reached in 1951 which additionally provided for a comprehensive Federation and machinery of negotiation based on the boards and committees with a Central Board as managing body of the Federation. Under this new regime, the Federation began its long haul to secure civil police pay and conditions.
However, it was not until 1963 that the same percentage increase as outside was granted and the two classes of inspector reduced to one. A similar advance was made in July of the following year. Before long, however, the Federation was given to understand that a further claim for civil police pay might be more favourably considered and in December 1964 pay parity was at last secured. It has been retained ever since.
Although the struggle for pay parity occupied much of the Federation's time, there were other issues to contend with.
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