Chris Cahill: Police Association President on the outcome of the police pay negotiations

The Police Association feels a recent pay deal doesn't recognise the force's work enough.  

An independent arbitrator stepped in after negotiations with the Police Association failed, siding with the Government's offer.  

Association President Chris Cahill told Mike Hosking while it's not the worst deal ever, it doesn't get officers back even with inflation over the past years. 

He says neither does it address the big increases in demand and risk, and the complexity of the role.  

Cahill says other groups who are able to strike have had this recognised, but police never have. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The police pay deals finally been settled. Essentially, they couldn't
agree talk for ages, so they took it off to
an independent arbitrator who favored the government's argument fifteen hundred
dollars ump sum backdated wage increases at least five thousand
dollars over time from next July. The Association president Chris
Carhills with us on this Chris morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
This is an elegant solution. I know you don't like it.
But if you can't agree, you can't agree. Get somebody
down the middle to make the call. They made the call,
and that's life, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, well, certainly you have to accept it. The only
difference is, Mike, because it's final offer arbitration, both parties
stand to win big or lose bigger. We think you'd
better to have arbitration. We're an arbitrator, could pick and
choose something in the middle, pick and choose the best
what we are for, the best what police offer, and
sort of come up with a solution that's more equitable

(00:46):
to everyone, rather than one side wins at all than
one side loses.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah, but that's negotiation, and you couldn't negotiate.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
It didn't work, Yeah, but sometimes that's having an independent
arbitrator that ten choose the best is still a better position,
we think than just having losing everything. When you put
your case on the side and it becomes so marginal
as it was in this case, you.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Wouldn't say that if you'd won, though, would you.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, you know, we won last time, and we still
think there's issues with it. I think that the whole
idea of it is when it was put together so
that police can't because police can't strike, and the government's
meant to come to the party and recognize that as
a condition. Where it's not being recognized a condition, then
they're not giving the police enough to actually put the

(01:30):
right offers on the table. That's when's it come to
the issue.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
See, here's part of the problem is although we would
all agree, I think and nurses probably fall into the
same category, should nurses be paid more? Should police be
paid more? We'd all go yes. Then you get down
to the how much more? In numbers terms? It's not
a bad deal, is it? Four plus four plus fifteen
hundred plus overtime?

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, Look, it's not the worst earlier that ever, it
might have a doubt. The problem is it doesn't keet
officers back even with inflation over the sort of the
five year period, so the last two years and the
three years going forward. And the other thing it doesn't
do is address the big increases and demand, the big
increases and risk and complexity of the role. And other

(02:12):
groups such as nurses and teachers that have been able
to industry election have had some recognition for that over
the last five and ten years. Police never have. So
there's those two issues that it happened really why we
haven't been able to settle.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Chris, appreciate your time. Chris Carhill, who's the Police Association president.
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.