Police officers who had to work overtime during the Valletta Migration Summit and the CHOGM late last year are getting a little over €1 for every extra hour they put in, this newspaper has learnt.

Over the course of the two events, some senior officers clocked more than 150 hours of overtime, Malta Police Association secretary Robert Vella said.

He spoke to this newspaper yesterday after the police administration turned down a request for payment for the extra hours, which, Mr Vella noted, would have amounted to about €75,000 had they been worked out on normal rates.

“After all the hours put in had been logged, we were informed there would be no payment for the additional time on duty but, instead, we should ask for a disturbance allowance, which, when you work it out, amounts to a little more than €1 an hour,” he added.

Senior officers, Mr Vella pointed out, receive a disturbance allowance to cover any additional hours put in every month, capped at 10 per cent of their monthly salary. They are not usually entitled to overtime but are paid for any extra duty carried out, with every rank entitled to different rates.

Mr Vella said that, at the time of the two events which saw a number of heads of State and of government visiting the island, both the organisers and the police administration had given the impression that the officers who worked any additional hours would be paid more or given some form of compensation, as was the case during the referendum and local council elections held in April.

“When we spoke with those who were directly involved with the organisation of the events recently, we were told that the funds were already set aside but nobody from the police force or the Home Affairs Ministry had asked for the funds,” he continued.

The association has written to both the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister but Mr Vella said no replies were forthcoming yet. He said that was disheartening to officers, who had worked so hard for their country.

The association was urging the authorities involved to address the issue and would not exclude taking legal action to safeguard the interests of the police. “It would be very unfortunate if certain individuals continued to insist the officers are not paid adequately, especially after the sacrifices they made to make sure the events were a success,” Mr Vella said.

A Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said the minister would be commenting on the matter today.