Updated 30 May with DOI right of reply
Recent police promotions awarded on the advice of a grievances board have opened a can of worms, after 11 officers complained they had been leapfrogged by less qualified candidates for the second time in three years.
The Home Affairs Ministry declined comment, saying it would await the pronouncement of the Public Service Commission which has been asked to look into the complaints by the aggrieved officers.
On May 9, Minister Carmelo Abela presided over a ceremony in which 10 officers were formally awarded their promotion, ranging from constable to sergeant and from sergeant to sergeant major.
Another 20 officers were expected to receive several benefits including financial compensation and an increase in pension, the minister announced. However, no further details were divulged.
These adjustments in the working conditions were meant to make amends for previous injustices. But 11 sergeants who twice missed out on promotions to sergeant majors cried foul, saying the grievances board, set up in September 2014, had discriminated against them.
Sources told The Sunday Times of Malta that within 48 hours of these promotions, the aggrieved officers had filed a complaint with the PSC.
They complained that the first injustice was committed in November 2013 when 13 officers were promoted to second-class sergeant majors following a call. The 11 officers claimed that after sitting for the interview, the results were never communicated to them, and that they had been leapfrogged by less experienced and less qualified members of the force.
Furthermore, some of the promoted officers should not have been eligible as they had been investigated on criminal offences, the complainants argued.
The aggrieved officers also pointed out that they had not sought redress from the grievances board for the simple reason that the force had never communicated its existence to its members.
Moreover, they had been misled by the fact that the terms of reference for the previous grievances board, which had been set up in February of the same year, stated that only retired public officers were eligible, thus excluding those who were still in the service.
Contacted by this newspaper, the president of the Malta Police Association, Inspector Robert Vella, confirmed they provided legal assistance to the officers.
“It seems that not every applicant was treated in the same manner and the entire process lacked transparency,” he said.
The president of the Police Officers Union, Inspector Sandro Camilleri, confirmed that the announcement of the setting up of the September 2014 grievances board was not communicated within the force, contrary to the instructions of the Principal Permanent Secretary.
“However, the POU was not yet formed so it was up to the MPA to ensure that such information, which was also published in the newspapers, would trickle down to all sections,” he said.
While not doubting its legality, Inspector Camilleri called for the re-opening of this grievances board for serving officers, saying there were still numerous injustice claims which had not been looked into.
'Misleading facts' - Director of Information
In a reply sent on Monday, director of information Paul Azzopardi said that the Grievances Board was open to all public employees who felt they had been treated unfairly, and not only retired public officers.
He noted that in 2014 public employees had been asked twice to submit any grievances, with calls for applications issued on 10 March and on 25 September.
"One and all had the opportunity to do so, had they felt the need to submit a grievance for the consideration of the Board," Mr Azzopardi's statement read.
"This Office strongly refutes the sweeping statement made that '…the entire process lacked transparency' inasmuch as the grievances process is thoroughly clear while the procedures adhered to are open to ensure that justice is truly made with all applicants who deem it fit to submit a grievance.”