Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/622858
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 JANUARY 2016 3 News Overtime arrears of 500 police officers yet to be quantified Sampling carried out in 2009 pointed to a staggering €56 million due to police officers for overtime worked GABRIEL SCHEMBRI THE overtime arrears of some 500 police officers have yet to be quantified as discussions on how to settle the pending pay- ments will start this year. The issue dates back to the early 1990s, when police officers were promised an overtime rate for extra hours worked. Instead, they continued to receive a f lat rate of €23. The situation was only rectified in 2009 – 16 years later – following a judicial pro- test: officers started receiving the overtime rate but not what they were due in the previous years. Subsequently, in 2013, the La- bour Party pledged to give offic- ers "an adequate compensation". Starting the new year with police officers, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela reassured them that discussions were finally to start. Questions immediately arose on what quantification method would be used to meet the pay- ments due. Presented with a set of queries, a spokesperson for the ministry simply replied that "these issues will be discussed during meetings with stake- holders". Sandro Camilleri, president of the Police Officers Union (POU), said it would be very dif- ficult to quantif y the outstand- ing payments. Speaking to MaltaToday, Malta Police Association (MPA) presi- dent Malcolm Bondin said the Home Affairs Ministry had yet to quantif y the overtime arrears of some 500 officers. These would include officers who have retired or passed away. The MPA will hand in more than 1,500 overtime returns to the ministry, which he said was "very willing to solve the issue". The issue, however, also ex- posed the rivalry between the POU and the MPA after the latter was accused of "standing idle". In a video posted on Fa- cebook, Camilleri also said that the MPA had failed to take ac- tion after failing to open a case in court. Bondin told MaltaToday that the MPA chose not to go to court because of time barring. The court case, if won, would only give officers what they were owed for the last two years. In other words, had the MPA opened a court case in 2009, the officers would only receive the overtime arrears dating between 2007 and 2009. Since the issue dates back to 1993, a sample number taken in 2009 showed that officers were owed some €56 million. "Legal advice sought by the MPA suggested that it would not be cost efficient for the associa- tion to file a court case. It would have cost more than €180,000 to open and the association does not have that amount of money," Bondin added. He however expressed confi- dence in finding a solution with the ministry. Bondin went on to add that the MPA was not will- ing to confront any union and would work with anyone ready to seek a solution. CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Born in Au- gust 1988, Boni was from Scoglitti in Sicily and graduated from the Li- ceo Linguistico Giuseppe Mazzini in 2007. She later moved to Malta and was currently employed with a small insurance brokers firm with offices in Lija. Trying to come to terms with the tragic news, one of her colleagues told Mal- taToday that he was devastated. "We are a small firm… she was not just a colleague but also a close friend," he said, when contacted. Taking to Face- book, Boni's boy- friend Daryl Cauchi left an emotional trib- ute to the person he loved dearly. "You were and always will be the best thing that ever hap- pened to me! Never to be forgotten and never to be replaced!" he wrote. "Such a disgraceful death to such a wonderful person." He urged people to "always cher- ish your loved ones as if it's your last moment together" and not to "sacri- fice too much to try and reach goals that are set far apart". "It's a gamble that's not worth the risk," he wrote. "Today at 7:45am, before she was off to work just like on every other day of the week, I had to experience receiving the last morning kiss from the one true per- son who showed me the feeling of love like none other. "Up until a few hours ago, I had it all. I couldn't wish for anything else. I was certain that I was sharing my life with my true soulmate, under- standing each other in every single way, working hard and setting goals to travel the world. "I am now facing a terrible feel- ing that cannot be described through words. Such a disgraceful death to such a wonder- ful person. I am left only with memories of us sharing the greatest mo- ments and ad- ventures of my life." Boni's Facebook profile portrays a young woman with a passion for mo- torcycles and an avid traveller. Second biker, 66, critical In a separate accident, in Gozo, half an hour earlier, a 66-year-old man riding a bike was also involved in a traffic accident. The police said the man was in danger of dying and brought to Mal- ta for medical treatment. The accident took place at about 7:30am in Triq Mgarr, in Xewkija. According to police investigations, both the van and the motorcycle were being driven in the same direc- tion, towards Mgarr harbour. The man lives in Xewkija and the van was being driven by a 55-year- old who lives in Victoria. 'A disgraceful death to a wonderful person' to our new premises in Valletta Road, Luqa opposite TNT w e h a v e m o v e d Tel. 21 320 433 Johanna Boni pictured on holiday with her boyfriend The accident, which took place in Labour Avenue in Naxxar, marks the first road fatality of 2016. PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CHRIS MANGION