Police officers are not being allowed to carry out traffic management duties for third parties - in a decision that sparked a trade dispute. The police union is claiming this decision is costing officers thousands of euros in overtime earnings. 

A spokesman for the police explained that the decision was taken because the force had been dealing with an increased amount of requests for overtime duties, particularly as a result of the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations.

So traffic management supplementary duties to third parties were stopped since the demand could be catered for by the Local Enforcement System Agency - LESA and Transport Malta. Meanwhile, police officers willing to work extra hours,  and get paid overtime, could apply to do so in the required fields. 

Each officer was given the opportunity to work close to 90 hours of supplementary duty in just one month.

"During July 2021, the Malta Police Force members performed 58,168.50 hours of supplementary duty, which were covered by around 660 police officers willing to perform these duties. Had the hours been divided equally (which in practice is not the case since officers are free to choose the number of hours, days and time when to perform supplementary duty), each officer was given the opportunity to work close to 90 hours of supplementary duty in just one month," the police spokesman said.

Trade dispute filed

In a statement, the Malta Police Union said a trade dispute was registered after the union’s request to continue offering the service of traffic management at the request of third parties remained “unanswered and completely ignored”. 

“The Malta Police Union considers this service as an opportunity for police officers to gain extra income during their off duties. This service is paid by the person/entity requesting the service and is only granted when a police officer is available at that date and time requested,” the union said in a statement.

A police spokesman explained that the decision was taken since the police force was dealing with the increased amount of requests for supplementary duties. When it came to overtime, paid by the police force, police had to cater for 45 daily fixed points, 23 of which are covered on a 24/7 basis. Besides, 80 officers per week are also requested to work on an overtime basis in Paceville.

Why should police officers only work forced overtime at Paceville to cater for the lack of staff at the St Julian's police station?

In the case of extra duties, which was overtime paid by third parties, there were over 60 security duties with departments or agencies and others, including COVID-19 related enforcement, the spokesman said.

Replying to this the union said that refusing this service outright did not make any sense given that it was not known until when the COVID-related services would be needed.

“Why are the opportunities police officers have to improve their income constantly being decreased by this administration? Why should police officers only work forced overtime at Paceville to cater for lack of staff at the St Julian's police station and lack of planning for police presence throughout the years for the Paceville area, when there may also be other opportunities?" the union said.

Decision not linked to traffic police scandal 

The decision to stop the third-party traffic management service is not linked to the traffic overtime racket that emerged last year and resulted in the arrest of some 38 officers. This had sparked a massive staff shortage in the division and required an internal call for applications.

The issue surfaced at the beginning of 2020 after an anonymous letter, by someone who described himself as “whistleblower”, landed on the police commissioner’s desk last December.

That letter had kicked off investigations against some 38 officers, mainly stationed at the traffic section, ultimately resulting in their arrest on February 11, 2020.

A lengthy investigation had shown that several members of the corps had in fact been claiming overtime for jobs they never reported for or carried out.

PN reacts

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said it was useless having police officers represented by unions if the force's management continued to take decisions without consulating them. 

It said the force can continue to improve the officers' conditions by better managing the requests for work while also ensuring its members "get the maximum possible".