Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/413175
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2014 13 "Here, there is another complica- tion. We communicate with the minister and with the commissioner, yes, but we also have the Police Ne- gotiations Board, set up by Chapter 164 in 2002. Officially we have to go to the PNB to negotiate..." Apart from an independent chair- man and four MPA members, this board also includes the permanent secretaries of the home affairs min- istry, the office of the prime min- ister, the finance ministry and the ministry of industrial relations. "We have already asked for a meet- ing [to discuss this agreement], but naturally a date for this meeting still has to be set. Yet the new agreement is already in force: here it says, 'the effective date of the provisions stip- ulated in this document shall be the date of signing of this addendum'. And it's already been signed…" Mercieca's main bone of conten- tion with the PNB, however, is that the past performance of this negoti- ating board is certainly no guarantee of future success. "Before 2002, we had nothing at all. In 2002, the PNB was set up, along the lines of the British system. The only problem we have with it, is that there are out- standing issues that are still pending since 2002…" Mercieca produces another ream of papers, one of which indicates the six main demands his associa- tion has been making for the past 12 years. "The first of these is the right to hold down part-time employ- ment…" He pre-empts my question regarding whether this is actually a good idea, given the propensity for conflicts of interest that comes with the role of policeman. "Obviously we understand that 'part-time employ- ment' would not include working as a bouncer or private security. But there are jobs that can be done part- time without any conflicts with the role of the police…" He moves on to demand number two: "extra duty taxed at 15%". As examples of 'extra duty' he cites sentry positions at a bank, or police presence at a wedding. "Obviously, the state does not pay for these ex- tra duties. What happens is that the payment is made to the commission- er, who then passes it on to us in our salaries. We can't be paid directly, for obvious reasons. But that is our part-time work at present. So why is it added comprehensively to our sal- ary package, and taxed comprehen- sively at 32%? We want extra duties to be taxed separately at 15%..." The MPA is also demanding a 40- hour week. "How is it that the police falls under the civil service, but un- like the rest of the civil service we work 46 hours a week? On the same salary scale? I am scale 11, for exam- ple. Across the road there is MEPA, also part of the same salary structure. Why should someone there earn the same wages as myself at scale 11, when I work six more hours a week than he? Never mind the nature of the work itself: we are talking about basic work conditions here…" Other demands include a reform of pensions, adequate health and life insurance, and allowances. And all of them have been on the table, so to speak, since 2002, with no progress anywhere in sight. Understandably enough, then, Mercieca is not optimistic about dis- cussing this latest complaint under the auspices of the same PNB. "What worries us more, however, is that this agreement, which as I said is unclear, may also have unforeseen consequences. What will happen in certain court cases – and we have such cases going on right now…" he breaks off in mid-sentence. "I can't give details of ongoing cases, but let's take a hypothetical example. We have so many minis- tries in this country… let's say, for argument's sake, we had a 'Ministry for Doors'. Imagine the police are in- formed that the 'Minister for Doors' is bringing in contraband merchan- dise. Or someone in his family is involved in something illegal. As police, we would have to investigate that. But what will happen as a result of this agreement? You might think, 'my contract will be up for renewal in a few months…' It might affect the decisions you make, and the way you approach your job. That is why we insist that the police must be totally autonomous from the ex- ecutive. This agreement undermines our autonomy in that sense." Interview Efforts to change the employment conditions for high-ranking police officers from permanent to performance-based contracts have not gone down at all well with the Malta Police Association. Its secretary, NEVILLE MERCIECA, explains why police autonomy PHOTO BY CHRIS MANGION