Nearly 1,500 police officers, almost the whole of the police force, yesterday filed a judicial protest against the Commissioner of Police claiming compensation for unpaid overtime that they said went back to 1993.
They also claimed that neither had they been given time off in lieu for hours worked, in breach of a 1993 agreement.
The situation had become intolerable and further action would be taken, as permitted to them by law, if need be, they warned.
A total of 1,473 police officers including senior ranking ones, from a force numbering about 1,800, put their names to the protest.
The 1993 agreement they cited is entitled New Salaries And Conditions Of Service For The Police Force. It states that "payment of overtime at 1.5 times the rate of pay will be made for any hours worked in excess of 46 hours per week, when time off in lieu cannot be given".
Although this paragraph was crystal clear, the Commissioner of Police had chosen not to adhere to the agreement, so that since 1993 they had not been paid overtime or given time off in lieu for working in excess of 46 hours in a week, the protest said.
"All work deserves to be compensated and it is inconceivable and unacceptable that, in a democratic country, policemen are being treated in this way, having been, for years, made to work for long hours without compensation."
While they were part of a disciplined force, they were making it clear they would no longer tolerate such a situation. If it was not immediately rectified through compensation for all hours they had worked over and above the 46 hours, they would take what action was permitted by law to press for their rights, they said.
The policemen and women also pointed out that three arbitrators who had been appointed by the Prime Minister to investigate this matter had concluded last August that they "strongly hold" that an official document stipulating the conditions of work (for example the 1993 document relating to the police force) was sacred and should be strictly adhered to.
There was, therefore, no justification for ignoring the provisions of the 1993 document (which was still in force and valid) and adopting the variety of timetables that went beyond the 46 hours per week stipulated in that agreement.
The protest was signed by lawyer Robert Abela.