As official voting towards the Australian Federal Police Enterprise Agreement (AFP EA) nears, the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) will strongly recommend that its members vote ‘NO.’
AFPA President Alex Caruana said that voting ‘NO’ would open the door to a fairer deal for all AFP members who were eligible to vote towards a new AFP EA.
“As the proposed AFP EA stands, we strongly believe members are not getting a fair deal and that the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) and Federal Government need to do better.
“Only recently, the Federal Government rubber-stamped a $6000 one-off payment to Air Services Australia aviation firefighters. The AFP is offering its members a $871 one-off payment as an inducement to vote ‘yes’ before 25 May 2024.
“Over the last few weeks, we have seen AFP officers at the forefront of counter-terrorism operations. The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, explicitly stated that he has faith in the AFP to do their work and will provide them with every support.1
“Action is louder than words. By guaranteeing that AFP police officers will remain among the lowest base paid police officers in the country with the most recent offer, it is reasonable to argue that the Federal Government, the AFP and APSC have not supported the AFP workforce of police officers, protective service officers, and unsworn members.
“The entire workforce of the AFP are not traditional public servants. AFP members are the most scrutinised employees in the Federal Government. All members must maintain a security clearance, are regularly drug tested, and can be integrity tested. Parliamentarians and their staff do not have this scrutiny.
“They also must disclose personal relationship and financial information. This is on top of being scrutinised by AFP Professional Standards, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
“The AFP has an experienced and highly skilled cohort of unsworn personnel who bring valuable expertise in areas such as forensics, cybercrime, human resources and legal. They fulfil roles as investigation assistants, working alongside sworn officers to protect Australia and its communities. Proposed conditions such as working from home are not applicable to them; they are not traditional public servants.
“At a recent Senate Estimates session, AFP representatives told the Committee that AFP officers were not the worst paid in Australia if you factor in composite and allowances. They celebrated the fact that, with allowances and composite, AFP officers were the fifth best-paid officers in the country. Fifth position out of eight is not something to be proud of, and the simple fact remains: on base pay, AFP police officers are the lowest paid in the nation,” Mr Caruana said.
The AFPA will be recommending a ‘NO’ vote to its members based on the following points:
- Use of Force Allowance: The AFPA is seeking an increase to $5000 to recognise the roles and
responsibilities of members required to be use of force qualified and the heightened risks they face
in their day-to-day jobs. - Broadbands improved for sworn police officers, in partnership with Protective Service Officer (PSO) broadband improvements: Broadbands for police need to be improved to bring AFP salaries in line with their state and territory counterparts.
- Unsociable hours allowance to apply to ALL AFP appointees: An Unsociable Hours Allowance needs to be equitable and not result in members doing night shifts losing money.
- Implementation of a Consultative Committee: The AFP needs to properly engage and consult with their members, including through a properly constituted Consultative Committee.
- A right to disconnect needs to be enshrined within the AFP EA.
- AFP appointees need pay rises that do not result in real wages for AFP employees going backwards as they have over the last ten years.
- Unsworn appointees need to be provided with career pathways as part of the AFP EA.
The AFPA still maintains the position and belief that the AFP has not negotiated in good faith or fought hard enough for its membership.
Mr Caruana said that the AFP had fought the AFPA every step of the way by docking members’ wages for undertaking simple, protected industrial action, not including the ‘right to disconnect’ legislation, and using Federal Government initiatives to support a ‘yes’ vote.
“The AFP is selling a ‘family and domestic violence leave inclusion’ to its members. Regardless of the EA,
this leave entitlement has been signed off by the Federal Government. It should play no part in EA
negotiations.
“The Federal Government is implementing ‘right to disconnect’ legislation that the AFP does not want to include in the proposed AFP EA. Why is that?” Mr Caruana asked.
The AFPA will be engaging with its membership over the next few weeks to raise awareness of the deficiencies and shortcomings in the proposed AFP EA.
Mr Caruana said that he hoped all AFP members would attend musters and learn more about the proposed AFP EA.
“These are employees’ workplace conditions for which we are fighting. We believe that the members are being shortchanged, and their skills not recognised. Why isn’t there an allowance for detectives? Most other jurisdictions across Australia recognise and reward the skills it takes to obtain a detective designation.
“It is time that the AFP and Federal Government recognise the work and commitment of all AFP employees. The AFP has taken advantage of the goodwill and dedication of its members for too long.
“It is also time for the AFP to step up and support its workforce. It is these members who are the protectors and frontline on national security, child exploitation, people smuggling, policing the Australian Capital Territory, and protecting critical infrastructure across Australia,” Mr Caruana said.
For comments: AFPA Media and Government Relations Manager – Mr Troy Roberts – 02 62651788 –
media@afpa.org.au
