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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Nick Bielby

Police union calls for back-pay amid ongoing pay dispute

Police Association of NSW president Tony King.

The state's police union will continue to argue for improved conditions for its members in front of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission in October, as a dispute over a new award continues.

It comes after the Police Association of NSW began putting its evidence on the record late last week, before the matter was adjourned for almost eight weeks.

Police are negotiating a new award, given the existing agreement was applied in 2017 and has rolled on since its expiry in July, but the fight has reached the Industrial Relations Commission.

The union says NSW Police has indicated it opposes back-paying its members to July in the event the commission rules in favour of a pay rise.

Association president Tony King said after last week's Industrial Relations Commission appearance that any move to rule out back-pay would be "insulting", particularly given the dispute would not go before the commission again until October 6 - when a three-day hearing is due to take place.

"In the past 12 months the police of NSW have been asked to do so much and been forced into the court to argue for a fair go," Mr King said.

"To be told that back-pay will be opposed is quite simply a kick in the guts.

"The delay between our 2017 award expiring and the day of our last scheduled hearing day will be 100 days - that's 100 days without any movement on a fair go on pay and conditions, and 100 days of an effective pay cut while the police officers around this state are being pushed to extreme lengths to protect the public. An actual decision could take even longer."

But the union said a memorandum of understanding had been agreed upon between the parties related to non-award conditions including maintaining the existing level of contributions, benefits and entitlements under the Death and Disability Scheme.

Award negotiations began in August, 2019, and the police association served a log of claims last December.

NSW Labor's police spokesperson Lynda Voltz said last week the government was ignoring the stimulus that a pay rise for frontline emergency service workers would bring to communities, particularly in regional areas.

"Police officers and paramedics have been deployed to bushfires, floods and the pandemic response across every corner of the state, now the premier and the treasurer are stalling in the commission, refusing to back-pay any rise, despite the negotiations drifting for a year," she said.

The ongoing pay dispute continued as at least 16 police officers were assaulted in 10 incidents between the Central Coast and Tuncurry in four weeks over June and July.

The assaults ranged from punches and kicks to police being shot with a pellet gun.

In some cases, as previously reported, officers required hospital treatment.

The government last month announced a parliamentary inquiry into violence against police - particularly recent trends and strategies to reduce incidents.

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