‘Toxic’: Cops’ threat to abandon parliament, airport over pay dispute

Police have threatened to abandon Parliament House and airports in a fresh push for increased pay. The Australian Federal Police Association has warned security at Parliament House may be affected during sitting weeks as the union claims a pay deal put forward by the federal government isn’t good enough. Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said officers had been left with “no choice” but to strike, claiming the deal being presented is “toxic” in a letter to senator David Pocock seen by NewsWire. “The pay deal presented by the federal government, which puts AFP officers into the same category as desk job public servants, would trigger a mass exodus from the AFP,” Mr Caruana wrote. “It was accepted by public servants because it included new work-from-home entitlements. But work-from-home entitlements are useless to an AFP officer who cannot investigate international pedophile syndicates or take a bullet for the Prime Minister from home.” The industrial action could begin as early as next week and is understood to involve dozens of members at a time. AFP appointees are set to be removed from key locations including Parliament House, Canberra airport, and federal politics functions and events (unless there’s a “significant threat rating”). Mr Caruana said AFP officers work “unsociable hours” and had a shorter life expectancy compared with the average Australian. “Being in the AFP is dangerous to officers’ physical and mental health,” he wrote in a letter to Mr Pocock. “AFP officers deal with the worst of humanity and have to enter the dark worlds of pedophile rings, international drug trafficking, illegal arms dealers and murderous terrorists every day. “They work unsociable hours – overnight shifts, weekends, Christmas. AFP officers also have a shorter life expectancy than the average Australian due to the physical and mental stress and trauma the job can generate. “People will not do it when they know they can be treated much better by a different employer.” He added nine in 10 AFP Association members weren’t being resourced to handle workload pressures, while eight in 10 had considered leaving the force over the last year. “The environment inside the AFP is a tinderbox right now. About two-thirds of officers report they are prepared to look for work elsewhere if the current deal is enforced,” he said. “We are prepared to disrupt the viability of activity at Parliament House to fight for a reasonable deal for officers who put their lives on the line every single day.” He called on the government, including Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, to “step up and intervene” by offering increased pay. “We have been quite optimistic in our log of claims, we’re looking for something around 20 per cent plus the allowances that we have already negotiated,” he said while speaking on ABC on Monday morning. “That being said, we’re open to being pragmatic, we’re open to some negotiation in that space. “We need something that’s going to encourage members to stay with the AFP.” While officers reportedly won’t take action that could put people in danger, the union is prepared to be “extremely disruptive” in pursuit of a better deal.