Striking cops are back on the beat

By Melissa Meehan
FOLLOWING two weeks of industrial action, Cranbourne police have returned to full duties after the Victorian Government and the Victorian Police Association signed a Heads of Agreement on a new wage agreement for Association members.
Both parties have signed a heads of agreement to end a long running dispute between the government and union members.
The association will need to seek endorsement from its members before any agreement is finalised.
Cranbourne Police union delegate Sergeant Tony Nester said association delegates endorsed the agreement in a meeting last Monday.
“Members are currently in the process of digesting the terms of the contract,” Sergeant Nester said.
Limited resources and staff have been a major issue at Cranbourne Police Station.
The new agreement delivers a salary increase for all members of the union.
In conflicting reports, the Brumby government has stated that the agreement includes a salary increase of 13.25 percent over four years.
On its website, the Victorian Police Association says members, depending on rank, will receive wage increases between 14 per cent and 31.4 per cent over three years and eight months.
There is speculation that the reason for differing reports is an attempt by the government to ensure the agreement publicly complies with the Public Sector Pay Policy recently introduced by the Premier.
The agreement will also provide many of the key objectives sought by the association at the beginning of their Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBA) campaign.
It includes the establishment of a police registration board, designed to achieve greater professional recognition, a new weekend and penalty rate system, increased expense allowances, and the ability to salary sacrifice superannuation contributions.
The government has released information of a clause in the agreement that the Police Association has agreed to reduce the “perceptions of crime problems” by two per cent and increase the “perceptions of safety” by two per cent over the term of the agreement. But the association said it only agreed to “actively assist Victoria Police within existing and future resources committed by the Government to reduce crime and cut road facilities”.
Police Association secretary Paul Mullet said the reports differed because the government was not factoring structural adjustments into their calculations.
He said the proposed agreement was a positive step forward.
“It is a good outcome, but it’s up to our members to make the final decision,” Mr Mullet said
Workplace visits to explain all factors of the agreement have been planned at all major police stations in Victoria.
Narre Warren Police Station will be visited on 1 October, and Cranbourne and Pakenham police stations on 3 October.