Police pay negotiations to go to arbitrator, as officers reject latest offer
Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Police officers have rejected the Government’s pay offer - which had been branded as the last chance before arbitration.
An email sent to officers says police “overwhelmingly” voted to reject the offer, with 75% voting against it. Earlier, Police Association president Chris Cahill told Stuff “a record number” of cops had voted on this offer. More than 8000 officers voted to reject the Government’s offer.
Given police officers have rejected that offer, after more than a year of negotiations, it’s expected that a third party arbitrator will be called in to settle the pay negotiations.
The right to arbitration is unique to the police force and a small number of other Government agents who by law cannot strike.
Why it matters
The relationship between the Government and police has been deteriorating, ever since the Government presented officers in March with a deal they said was “worse” than an offer they’d rejected back in September.
Since March, police officers have been growing increasingly unhappy about the Government’s pay negotiations. They threatened to protest, called on their union to organise for industrial action, and have been increasingly vocal about poor morale and poor conditions amongst the force.
This comes at a time when Australia is actively head hunting Kiwi cops, offering relocation deals and significant pay rises. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon insists the Government is still committed to a promise of hiring 500 extra officers.
With the latest offer rejected, it shows the Government has been unable to placate police frustration - and a third party will now be called in to settle the pay dispute.
The breakdown
At the end of March, Cahill said he believed negotiations had gone for as long as possible. The association presented officers what the Government had said would be its “best offer”. That included:
A one-off $1500 payment.
New overtime payments, starting from July next year, of time and a half.
A base pay increase of 4%, starting in July 2024. And another 4% rise in July 2025.
But the offer continued to frustrate officers because of sticking points around back pay.
Previous offers had committed to back pay officers from when negotiations started, but those promises were clawed back in the more recent offers. Negotiations started in July.
Other measures, including the provision of health checks and removing incidental allowances had also been controversial during negotiations.
In an email to police, Cahill said the vote showed a “very strong rejection”.
He said the association would met police on Friday to finalise an arbitration timetable.
Who said what
“The strong turnout sends a very strong message to the police executive and the Government that officers are not feeling valued for the work they do and the dangers they face each day,” said Cahill, in an email to police on Wednesday evening.
“This is an incredibly disappointing outcome. The offer was significantly better than what was presented in August last year, with an additional quarter of a billion dollars of Government funding,” said Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
He continued, “It’s disappointing that Police Officers are now faced with an arbitration process that will add more time to what has already been a lengthy process.”
Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said police weren’t being paid what they were worth.
“Mark Mitchell talks a bit game in Opposition, but has failed to deliver in Government. He is asking police to do more, but won’t pay them for it,” she said.
Stuff has also heard from police officers. Many were surprised by how strong the ‘no vote’ had been.
One Auckland officer said the vote delivered “a good example of sworn staff not rolling over quietly”.
The history
Negotiations between the Police Association and Government started early last year.
In September, police rejected a 4% pay rise offer. Despite a change in Government, that base pay offer has remained at 4%.
The original offer would have backdated the pay rise to April 2023.
But the most recent offer included no back pay.
What next?
Voting closed for the police pay offer at 5pm on Wednesday, and the association quickly confirmed the result.
Attention will now turn to how the Government responds.
The association has directly criticised Mitchell, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for not approving a greater pay offer.
Policing had been a central election issue, with National, ACT and NZ First all campaigning on increasing police numbers and “cracking down” on crime. In Government, they will face questions about how to deliver on those promises given it appears the police pay issue could not be settled.
Timeline:
October 2022 - Public Sector Pay Agreement (PSPA) negotiations start.
March 2023 - Police Association rejects PSPA offer, saying it was offered less than other unions. Formal collective negotiations start.
September 2023 - Police employees accept new offer; constabulary reject it.
March 7, 2024 - Pay offer rejected without putting it to members. Officers slam “insulting” clawbacks and removal of backdated pay offers.
March 19, 2024 - Government promises an enhanced pay offer,
April 17 - Voting closes on latest pay offer.