The Police Officers' Union within the General Workers’ Union has directed members not to pay their quarterly €13.98 contribution to the police fund unless they were assured that no part of the contribution would be passed on to the committee of what was the Malta Police Association.

In a statement this afternoon, the union said it was that the committee members of the recently dissolved MPA were still using the funds and offices they no longer had a right to.

This was discriminatory and hindering the work of the POU, which was, so far, the only police union registered in Malta.

POU coordinator Kevin Camilleri said the issue was raised with Police Commissioner Michael Cassar from whom a meeting was requested. However, no reply had so far been received.

Such behaviour, Mr Camilleri said, did not augur well for the building of good industrial relations between the two sides for the benefit of officers and the force.

The union said that according to the MPA’s statute, any remaining monies in the police general fund once this was dissolved should be returned to the fund’s account. This was not done and was contributing towards discrimination against officers who wanted to join the POU, Mr Camilleri said.