By now, members would be aware that the government has made an offer
regarding the fourth round of enterprise bargaining. It is now up
to you to vote to accept the offer or otherwise. A few salient points
to remember are:
- This is not the first offer.
- The Police Association has been in negotiations for more than
six months.
- The offer is greater than CPI.
- No conditions have been sold off.
- This is a two-year deal.
- The new ranks have been included to provide opportunity.
- A YES vote of 50%-plus-one is needed to have the offer ratified
in the Industrial Commission.
- All sworn employees and cadets are able to vote.
The restructuring payment payable from October 1, 2004, is based
on bringing SA police salaries to the mid-point of police earnings
in Australia. This mid-point will see SA police paid at a comparable
level with interstate police. All salary increases are realized within
24 months which also includes extra increments in some ranks.
The hard-to-fill and remote-posting incentives that have been offered
are:
| LEVEL 1 |
| Rent-free depot housing, or an additional 20% rental subsidy (based on
weekly market rental of $250 per week) |
$2600 |
| Reimbursement of disconnection and reconnection of utility services, and
mail redirection (averaged over 2 years of service) |
Up to $100 |
| Reimbursement of storage expenses for furniture and household effects |
Up to $1200 |
| Negotiable components of package |
Up to $2000 |
| Guaranteed return to the metropolitan LSA of member’s choice at completion
of tenure |
| LEVEL 2 |
| Rent-free housing (based on weekly market rental of $350 per
week) |
$9100 |
| Reimbursement of disconnection and reconnection of utility services,
and mail redirection (averaged over 2 years of service) |
Up to $100 |
| Reimbursement of storage expenses for furniture and household
effects and vehicles |
Up to $1200 |
| Water and electricity usage paid by SAPOL (electricity $700
per quarter, water $300 per quarter) |
Up to $4000 |
| Payment of freight of foodstuffs (up to a maximum weight of
100 kilograms per month for member with dependents) |
Up to $1200 |
| Remote Allowance (paid at completion of each year of service) |
$3000 |
| Negotiable component of package |
Up to $5000 |
| Guaranteed return to the metropolitan LSA of member’s choice
at completion of tenure |
Level 2 incentives will apply automatically to any positing in the
Anangu Pitjantjatjara and Yalata Lands. Level 1 incentive options
will apply at the discretion of the Commissioner of Police or his
delegate and will not be attached to any specific location.
If you have any questions regarding these issues or other enterprise
bargaining matters, please call me direct.
What do you tell a member who tells you there are too few staff to
do the job?
The infuriating problem of staff shortages has become so entrenched
that no real solution to the problem seems to exist.
The Police Association deals with it almost on a daily basis, both
at micro and macro levels. Association staff have attended workplace
consultative committee and other general meetings to help bring about
resolutions. But, in reality, little will change in the short term.
Of course, the association lobbied the Government for an increase
in police numbers, and thereby secured a commitment from Premier Rann
to fund the recruitment of 200 extra officers by the end of 2005.
However, the posts and duties for which they are earmarked remain
unclear. So their addition to the ranks of the short-staffed might
yet provide little relief.
In some cases of under-staffing in rural locations, the association
has taken out newspaper advertisements to highlight and address the
issue.
The association has also addressed the issue in Foundations for
21st Century Policing, its submission to the Parliamentary Select
Committee inquiring into the staffing, resourcing and efficiency of
SAPOL.
The concluding paragraph of section two of the submission reads:
Regardless of philosophical views relative to the merit or benefits
of ILP (Intelligence-Led Policing), all the evidence suggests that
the full benefit of this model cannot be realised without additional
police numbers. In SAPOL, it was introduced at a time when police
numbers had declined and its introduction resulted in police being
taken from core police duties, i.e. general duty patrols and criminal
investigation, to allow for its introduction. ILP was introduced in
SAPOL without adequate staffing to support it and this fact has not
been addressed to the current day forming the foundation of this review.
SAPOL’s current structure is larger than its volume of employees.
Consequently, many substantive positions within SAPOL remain unfilled.
Those vacant positions may include long- or short-term vacancies,
which one might not so easily detect.
Association members, including supervisors and managers, face the
difficulty of working within a structure in which the expected output
far exceeds the level of staffing. And many sections, branches and
units are attempting to function with that inadequate level.
This factor is neither identified nor used in the calculations of
expected work output. As a result, members are anxious about not meeting
timelines, and failing to meet the output expectations of their particular
areas.
Some members might try either to take shortcuts, or introduce some
“risk-management” strategies to get the job done. But, in most cases,
these are not appropriate options - they could have some negative
outcomes for both members and the community.
And these actions can result in unrealistic measurements of productivity,
and engender a culture of poor work quality.
The police occupation has become more intense and complex than ever
before. Technology has brought significant improvements and now monitors,
so precisely, one’s accountability in dealing with reported crime.
Poor work quality simply does not stand up in this new-millennium
era of modern technology.
The association works to protect its members from unrealistic work
expectations in order to ensure they maintain a safe and healthy lifestyle.
Some of the association’s 53 recommendations contained in Foundations
for 21st Century Policing, include:
- ...review generally the concept of Intelligence-Led Policing as
it applies to SAPOL, particularly in relation to staffing levels.
- ...that SAPOL develop and apply a multidimensional staffing model
in order to develop a strategic approach to staffing issues and
thereby ensure that SAPOL’s establishment is sufficient to meet
the increased demand for police services.
- ...that in order to determine the real number of staff available
for operational duties at an LSA level, SAPOL provide an overview
of the actual number of sworn staff assigned to projects over the
last five years.
- ...that SAPOL provide to the Committee the number of officers
that are currently not assigned to and/or not undertaking the duties
of their substantive position.
The association will address these issues for as long as they continue
to come to its attention.
Meanwhile, members should take account of their OHSW obligations
- to themselves and others. Members should be cognizant of their entitlements
under the award, and forever mindful of the quality and accuracy of
their work input.
These issues are being addressed in meetings, through consultation
with SAPOL, and by the Select Committee. But, as members deal with
them (the issues) - both in a physical and psychological sense - they
should understand that SAPOL is aware of its structure, and its associated
staffing issues.
It has now come to a point at which my response to members, who
find their work overwhelmingly burdensome because of understaffing,
is: “Just do your best”.
The association will continue to confront staffing issues in every
way it can.
More shrapnel injuries
Shrapnel and other bits and pieces of the Smith and Wesson revolver
continue to injure association members.
Just some of the new reports to emerge, include:
- A member hit in the side of his face and cut by shrapnel during
firearms training at Leigh Creek Pistol Club on August 4. The firearm
was later examined, deemed not to be faulty and therefore not defected.
- A member’s right forearm cut after being hit by shrapnel from
another firearm two metres away during training at Tea Tree Gully
outdoor range on August 17.
- A CIB member struck in his forehead by a revolver’s rear sight
after it blew off as he fired a shot during firearms training in
late August. All these incidents have been reported to SAPOL.
