On Wednesday, the PSA appeared before the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to defend the right of permanent part-time shift workers to get penalties when a public holiday falls on a rest day. Staff at PoliceLink, and some PAC/PDs have had this entitlement withdrawn since January. The decision potentially affects hundreds of employees and is worth a couple of days’ pay on average to each affected employee.

NSW Police is refusing to make the payments, claiming it does have to, claiming permanent part-time staff don’t get rest days. The PSA says permanent part-time shift workers have a right under the Award to have the same entitlements as part time leave without pay shift workers. The decision was made centrally, not by line management in the affected areas. We have tried to negotiate with Workforce Relations, but after eight months of talks we have had no success. As negotiations were not working, we have notified the IRC there is a dispute about interpretation of the Award.

At the hearing, Commissioner O’Sullivan listened to submissions and asked NSW Police to come back with more details about why it changed the entitlement in January. The matter has been listed for report back at 9:00am on 26 September 2022.

The PSA is disappointed by Police’s actions and will leave no stone unturned to defend members’ industrial rights.

Actions such as this are only possible due to a strong membership within the NSW Police. If any of your colleagues are not members, get them to join today! www.psa.asn.au/join.