An offer on police overtime, which the Home Affairs Minister said in July would be tabled “in the coming weeks”, has still to materialise.
The point was raised yesterday by Malta Police Association president Robert Vella during a joint news conference with the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions on their Budget proposals.
“Three-and-a-half years into this legislature we are very far from a solution and the last meeting we had with Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela was in March, when both sides were still miles apart,” Mr Vella, a police inspector, said.
In its proposals, the MPA is calling on the government to launch a scheme to address the issue once and for all.
The matter goes back to a 1993 collective agreement which had established a 46-hour week, beyond which officers would have the right to claim overtime. This arrangement was never implemented and, when formed in 2009, the MPA had filed a judicial letter.
Subsequently, in its 2013 general election manifesto, the Labour Party had promised “adequate compensation” but very little progress has been registered so far.
Meanwhile, the MPA is still waiting to be granted official recognition as the union representing the police force despite having the backing of the majority of officers. Mr Vella remarked that, 18 months after the enactment of a law granting the right to association in a trade union to members of disciplined forces, they were still waiting.
“The government is dragging its feet and this means we cannot even hold talks on a new collective agreement,” he added.
Police sources expressed concern that the government did not appear keen on granting recognition to the MPA. It seemed, the sources added, the government was more “at ease” dealing with the Police Officer Union, which was affiliated with the General Workers’ Union.
A Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said that while the government still had to make an offer, the overtime issue was discussed on a number of occasions. The spokeswoman also said that official recognition of the MPA does not fall under the remit of the ministry.