Police officers are accusing the police commissioner of “robbing our future”, after a leaked email suggested staff reduce their superannuation contribution to save cash after a disappointing pay offer.<\/p>\n
The email to police staff from Police Commissioner Andrew Coster suggested officers forgo their contribution to the police superannuation scheme to compensate for the government’s final pay offer not keeping up with the cost of living.<\/p>\n
An officer with nearly 20 years’ experience says cops were feeling “unappreciated and despondent”.<\/p>\n
The Police Association and the government have been arguing over pay rates for more than a year.<\/p>\n
Independent arbitrator Vicki Campbell was appointed in April to decide which of each party’s final offers would be adopted after no agreement was reached in negotiations.<\/p>\n
On Monday, she found in favour of the government’s latest offer, which included a $1500 lump sum payment, a flat $5000 pay increase for officers, plus another 4 percent increase in July and the same in 2025.<\/p>\n
There would also be a 5.25 percent increase in allowances backdated to last November.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the officer said backdating the allowances to November instead of July – when the previous pay agreement had expired – was one of the biggest bones of contention among officers.<\/p>\n
“It’s always months down the track after after the contract expires before we get a resolution. We’ve been sold short and have we just set a dangerous precedent that we won’t get our back pay from when our contract actually ends?” they said.<\/p>\n
Another officer, who RNZ agreed not to name, said members of the Police Association had welcomed the arrival of the new government’s Minister of Police – former officer Mark Mitchell – but he was not “walking the walk”.<\/p>\n
“I was optimistic given what Mark Mitchell was saying that it would be a better environment for police. He’s good at talking it up but he’s not supporting the staff who are supposed to deliver on his big promises. He’s just talked shit,” the officer said.<\/p>\n
Mitchell has defended the deal saying it was the best the government could do. He told\u00a0Checkpoint\u00a0<\/i>on Tuesday officers would be paid overtime for the first time ever.<\/p>\n
The officer RNZ spoke to said his family was struggling and he had hoped negotiations would bring some significant relief.<\/p>\n
“We live from pay day to pay day. What they’ve done doesn’t give us anything like inflation or most interest rates costs.<\/p>\n
“I don’t understand how that’s okay when you have a review for this date, the police stall negotiations, and then somehow move the date back,” he said.<\/p>\n
In a leaked email sent to police staff following the decision Coster said the delays to negotiations were compounded by the timing of the election and the change of government.<\/p>\n
rnz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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