Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Police Association Acting President Lisa Bayliss says there are delays with police receiving their back pay as a new nominee needs to be appointed to the arbitration tribunal

Transcript

NT Police Association Acting President Lisa Bayliss says there are delays with police receiving their back pay as a new nominee needs to be appointed to the arbitration tribunal · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A few messages coming through this morning about the payoffer
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: put to our Northern Territory Police. So I've got one
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: here that says, Hi Katie, another kick in the guards
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: for our hard working, loyal Northern Territory police. No pay
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: increase or bonus for over two years. The Northern Territory
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Government recently approved a three percent pay increase to be
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: back paid to the first of July twenty twenty two.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: This won't be paid until late July early August twenty
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: twenty three. This text message says, our loyal police are
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: severely undervalued, under resourced and underpaid. Northern Territory Government, pull
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: your finger out and process the back pay now now. Honestly,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: we've got probably six of those messages that have come
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: through this morning alone from different people pretty concerned about
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: this situation, joining me on the line to shed some
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: light on exactly what is going on. From the Northern
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Territory Police Association, the acting president is Byleis. Good morning
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: to you.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Lisa O, Yes, good one and Katie.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Now Lisa tell us what is happening at this point
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: in time with this payoffer.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Well, look, it's unfortunate the timing of everything, how it
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: occurred in relation to the certification of the agreement. Our
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: nominee that sits on the Police Arbitration Tribunal was previously
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Ray Murphy, and unfortunately, I mean good for him, he
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: took up a position as an acting judge, but the
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: timing of that unfortunately fell just the wrong time. We
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: advised the OTP that we needed to get the once
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: ever been agreed upon everything sign as quickly as possible
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: so that we could progress it because otherwise we then
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: have to have another nominee that signed the document and
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: we get the new nominee approved by cabinet. Is a
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: bit of a process. But look, besides, apart from all that,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: you've got to remember when we entered negotiations, it was
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: in February last year, So February twenty twenty two is
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: when we commenced negotiations with the government, and it's now
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: June twenty twenty three and we're members. They're still waiting
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: for their back pay and changes to their conditions. It
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: is it's like in terms of dragging their feet, that's
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: what the government has done, and it's really disappointing. We're
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: now at this point and.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: So like from the delay right now it seems like
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: it is an administrative thing in terms of not having
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: that nominee in place to be able to sign off
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: on it. Have I understood that correctly?
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Yep, that's that's correct. When when the document is signed,
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: it signed by the Minister, signed by the President, and
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: we've also signed by the nominee on the PAP which
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: the Police Arbitration Tribunal and includes the Vice President. Ashbury
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: normally signs that as well. But we can't complete that
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: until we have a nominee. And as I said before,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: unfortunate the timing was mister Ray Murphy. He took up
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: a position as an acting judge. You can no longer
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: act as as a lawyer in that capacity. So now
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: we're just waiting for we've got a new nominee that's
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: before cabinet, we're waiting for to progress. We haven't heard
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: any further on that at this stage. Contacted the Minister's
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: office earlier this week to find out where that's that,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: and I have not actually had a response at this stage.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: And so any possibility here, Lisa, that this could happen sooner,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that it could get signed off sooner, and that pay
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: increase may happen sooner than what our police officers are
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: thinking it will.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Well, the unfortunate thing is it is an administrative process,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: so even if this is progressed as quickly as possible,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: it then has to go through to payroll. Payroll needs
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: to progress process everyone's pay and to be done as
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: quickly as possible. The information I've got from them is
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: that it will still would not happen until probably the
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: second potentially then the third pay in the new financial years.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: It is. It is incredibly disappointing. This effects, you know,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: all of our members who've been waiting for almost two
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: years now for pay rise. Totally unacceptable and I think again,
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: I take it back to the original negotiations. We were
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: ready to go in February last year and the government
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: has dragged it till we was a very disappointing, very difficult,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: drawn out negotiation process and effectively we started with a
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: zero percent and the government dragged the heels all the
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: way through it. And this is where we're at to
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: now in during twenty twenty three, still waiting for a
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: pay roll.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah right, So at this point in time for those
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: officers that are listening this morning, and I know that
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: obviously that mail out went yesterday, but it's looking as
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: though EI either the second or third pay in the
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: next financial year, so it will sort of be towards
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: the end of August or late July.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I don't have confirmation on the date. Yeah,
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: all I know is that the information I've got, if
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: it was processed. Even with processed, you know by next week.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: This is the soonest they could get it done. But
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: again the ball is in the government's court. They need
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: to progress this the nominee confirmation that's done, then we
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: can progress the content agreements being certified.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Well, let's hope that it happens sooner rather than later
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: and get the ball moving. As you said, you know,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: our hard working police officers have been waiting quite some
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: time for this to happen and finally reach that agreement.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: So you know, I'm sure that they are waiting. It
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: will be back paid, thy wonnte here.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Look, every member will get back paid their actual pay
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: and any overtime that they've done. That has been confirmed
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: and promised by the government from the very beginning of negotiation.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: So that's some good news for everyone. However, those people
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: that have resigned or retired, perhaps they're the ones that
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: they will miss out. They they're no longer part of
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: employees under the Act, and they were actually not being
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: back paid at all. So I think that's going to
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: affect quite a number of people, and that's the problem.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: The longer this drags on, the more people that are capturing,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: and it's really it's unfair. But that's unfortunately where we
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: found out.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Well, Lisa Bayless, please do keep us up to date
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: if there is any progression. As I say, we've got
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: a lot of messages about that, or a few messages
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: about that this morning, so thought we're going to need
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: to find out exactly what the goal is here. So
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate you joining us at very short notice
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: to have a chat about that today.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: No, thank you very much, Katie.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Thank you