New wage agreement for the Victorian Police force
Victoria Police insists there'll be no gaps in frontline services as the 16-thousand person police force shifts to a nine-day fortnight, under a significant new wage agreement.
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00:00 This became a common sight as negotiations stalled.
00:05 Now no more, with an in-principle deal intended to boost pay packets, fill vacancies and tackle
00:10 burnout for those on the front line.
00:13 We need to make sure we keep our police members fit and well, when they're looking after us
00:18 in the community.
00:19 They do need and deserve that support.
00:21 Barely two weeks after Chief Commissioner Shane Patten knocked back a nine-day fortnight
00:26 proposal, it's become a pillar of the deal.
00:29 With officers adding 20 minutes to their shifts next year, working eight and a half hour days
00:34 in 2026, then a nine hour day in a nine-day fortnight from 2028.
00:40 A 16% pay increase will be staggered over the deal's four-year lifespan.
00:45 We need to do that because we need people to come to work and strap a uniform on every
00:49 day to keep us safe.
00:51 Stakeholders have welcomed the proposal, unanimously endorsed by union delegates, but some question
00:56 how a debt-saddled government can afford it.
00:59 If it means that we're going to see station closures, if it means we're going to see a
01:02 reduced police presence overall because the Ayrton Labor government can't manage money
01:06 and it's cutting back on resources to fund the deal, then that's not a great deal for
01:09 taxpayers either.
01:10 The Department of Treasury and Finance are working through those details, but clearly
01:14 provision has been made in the budget for wages policy.
01:18 Victoria Police and the union say the staggered approach to the roster changes mean there'll
01:22 be no gaps in frontline services, even as officers take five days off per fortnight.
01:28 But with something like 800 current vacancies across the force, another key question is
01:32 whether this proposal does enough to bring new recruits to Victoria Police.
01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]