Updated 3.19pm
A union representing police officers on Tuesday said it has registered an industrial dispute over working conditions which it says will drain manpower from police districts.
“Our districts are not equipped to handle a major accident where a large number of officers are required to intervene,” the Malta Police Union said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
The union's committee registered the official trade dispute with Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà on Monday evening.
This follows another dispute registered by the union last week over conditions in an internal call for assistant commissioners.
Morale at 'rock bottom' - POU
Another police union, the Police Officers Union, said morale among district police has hit "rock bottom", with officers struggling to get even a single day of leave due to understaffing issues.
POU spokesman Roderick Psaila said that police administration should consult before making decisions that impact district police officers. Some were still not entitled to allowances that their branch colleagues could access, he noted.
The MPU's statement on Tuesday morning described the “situation of disappointment, demotivation and great uncertainty” facing men and women in blue.
The union said the police force is being “administered from an office through a computer” and said officers are growing increasingly unhappy with the state of district police branches.
Police headquarters in Floriana. File photo.Daily complaints
“The union is being inundated with complaints from its members regarding the inhumane working situation in various districts. They are struggling to keep up their daily commitments, in times when the usual commitments are non-existent,” the MPU said.
The union expressed concerns that workloads may increase after the lifting of COVID-19 measures.
It also said that district sergeants were being forced to do extra work since overtime for officers had been reduced.
“Administrative duties are increasing drastically, with demands and instructions from the administration to maintain attractive statistical numbers, which might give a picture that everything is ok to the general public, when in fact it’s not,” the union said.
The union also complained that police officers are being prevented from earning extra money in their free time and that this was stopping them from making enough to enjoy a decent standard of living.
Morale levels are low, warns PN
In a statement on Tuesday, the Nationalist Party said poor decisions by the Labour administration are leading to low levels of morale in the police force and resulting in top people leaving without being replaced.
The Labour government had cut overtime and extra duty while refusing to engage with unions that represent officers.
PN spokesman for home affairs Beppe Fenech Adami expressed solidarity with the police officers and victims of injustices saying the PN remains committed to improving police conditions.
Nationalists don't have a leg to stand on with police, PL says
In a statement later on Tuesday, the Labour Party said the PN had no leg to stand on when it comes to supporting the police.
The PN, Labour said, is shamelessly weighing in on issues of police overtime when it was past Nationalist administrations which had failed to pay officers for long hours worked in the line of duty.
Correction November 30: A previous version stated that Roderick Psaila is a spokesperson with the MPU, rather than POU.