The Malta Police Association has written to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi saying its members were not to be taken for a ride and that if the Justice Ministry did not want to reach an agreement on overtime payment, it should be immediately declared.
The issue revolves around the payment of arrears due to the corps in accordance with the law, the letter stipulates. Over the years, it says, members of the force have worked long hours in excess of 46 a week, without receiving overtime payment or time off in lieu.
The letter informed Dr Gonzi that the members of the police corps were still being treated “very badly” and as inferior to others, explaining that their request to meet and continue discussions with the Justice Minister, agreed to in a previous meeting dating back to May, was being ignored.
Moreover, the negotiating process was an example of the way things should not have been handled, it said.
The letter, written by its legal representatives, Abela, Stafrace and Associates Advocates, pointed out that, over long months of negotiations, minimal progress was registered due to the fact that the government chose to drag its feet, postponing the issue and failing to offer anything tangible.
Theirs was an issue that had to be given prevalence over others which the Justice Minister was focusing on because they attracted the attention of foreign media, the letter said.
“If the government does not want to reach a just and fair solution outside court, it should inform the association so that it would be in a position to explore alternative roads,” it continued.
It pointed to the anomaly of the government’s refusal to pay its employees for the work they did to its benefit, particularly the police, whose pay did not reflect the risks of their job.
This attitude, their lawyer Robert Abela suspected, was a result of the fact that members of the corps were still denied union membership and were unable to take certain action to protect their interests.
“If it were the case, it would amount to unacceptable abuse and is being noted,” Dr Abela wrote.
The association hoped for a timely intervention on the Prime Minister’s part regarding this “unacceptable” situation, so the injustice would not continue to be perpetrated.
On the occasion of World Police Day yesterday, the Labour Party expressed its solidarity with the corps as regards their working conditions and the demotivation they were facing.
It was “shameful” that, despite the passing of years, the members of the corps were still awaiting justice as regards their legitimate right to union representation and the payment of overtime, said the PL spokesman for security, Michael Falzon.