Caught in a stand-off and stymied by restrictions on wage increases imposed by public sector policy, the body which represents federal and ACT rank and file police officers has applied to the Fair Work Commission to take a protected action ballot, the first step toward industrial action.
The Australian Federal Police Association has been in enterprise bargaining with the Australian Federal Police for several months ahead of the expiration of the current agreement in May.
But the public sector workplace relations policy 2023 has set an arbitrary 11.2 per cent cap on pay rises across three years which the association says will leave its members well out of step with the pay rates being offered in other jurisdictions.
The federal police executive is keenly aware of how an unsatisfactory outcome from this next agreement would leave them highly vulnerable to poaching of its more experienced staff by police and emergency services in other states, where attractive financial incentives already are being dangled.
The Queensland police service, in particular, has very aggressive recruitment targets and is understood to be offering a $20,000 sign-on bonus to senior constable rank and above, and a generous relocation allowance.
"The AFPA believes that you deserve more than what is currently being offered by the federal government," association president Alex Caruana said.
"I have said as such directly to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, and I will also say the same to Senator Katy Gallagher ... [who] can resolve the current stand-off and offer a better deal than what is on the table.
"She can also remove the necessity for industrial action by allowing more flexible non-APS bargaining parameters."
In a recent survey of members, an overwhelming majority endorsed industrial action to advocate for a better pay offer.
The territory's chief police officer Neil Gaughan, who is on the AFP bargaining team, said the environment had changed and "we need to look at how we pay our people more".
"We acknowledge that we need to be competitive in the marketplace and to that, we need to make sure people are remunerated accordingly," he said.
