The police force will be receiving a pay packet increase that includes a one-time payment to each officer of between €1,000 and €1,900 each.
Officers will receive the payment in two instalments, with the first being made in October and the other in February.
The one-time payment will cost the government an estimated €2 million and the recurrent cost of the rest of the measures will mean €1.5 million a year.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced the raise during this year’s passing out ceremony on Wednesday evening in which 70 recruits graduated.
Government sources said the measures would also increase the pool of police officers receiving a special duty allowance of €1,258 a year for constables and sergeants and €1,677 for inspectors.
Previously, officers working in the administrative law enforcement and traffic sections, the mobile squad and the dog and horses’ sections did not receive such an allowance but they will under the new provisions.
For the first time, a police force allowance of between €300 and € 2,300 a year will be established, scaled according to the officers’ grade. On top of this, officers working on a shift will, for the first time, be given an allowance of up to a maximum of €472.
The measures follow negotiations with the Police Association, which has not been officially recognised as a representative of police officers by the government even though the latter indicated it would be doing so.
The issue of remuneration and the conditions of the police force have been sticky points for some years with government critics suggesting that there was a sense of disillusionment in the corps. In this respect, the boost will be welcomed but will also serve as a possible electoral boost close to the polls.
Dr Gonzi, who took over the home affairs portfolio from Carm Mifsud Bonnici after his resignation following a no-confidence vote in Parliament in May, said at the passing out parade on Wednesday that police work demanded sacrifice and dedication, pointing out that officers were usually closer to danger than others.
“We would like to see the income of the members of the police force reflect the work that is carried out and the complexity of your service,” he said.
He said the government would bring about the improvements responsibly, to safeguard the sustainability of public finances and spare Malta the difficulties suffered byother countries.
The ceremony was the last to be held at Fort St Elmo, the home of the Police Academy for the past 24 years. The fort is to undergo extensive restoration and the academy will move to new premises at Ta’ Kandja. It will be temporarily housed at the former Umberto Calosso School in Sta Venera.