NSW Premier Chris Minns flags “real pay boost” to police amid union wage battle

NSW Premier Chris Minns has vowed to strike a solid wage deal with police that will be backdated once an agreement is reached.

NSW Premier Chris Minns says he wants to see a “real boost” to the pay of NSW Police, as the union demands “nothing less” than a 25 per cent pay rise over the next four years.

Speaking at the Police Association of NSW’s 2024 biennial conference, Mr Minns said he was expecting to see a “new agreement” in the next few months.

He also used his speech to announce that any decision would be backdated to the first pay packet of the 2024-25 financial year, despite the current award expiring on June 30.

“When it comes to pay, we are equally determined to repair and reverse the damage of the wages cap over the last 12 years in NSW,” he said.

“We know that these negotiations can take time, but whenever an agreement is reached, I’ll ensure that it’s backdated to the first pay packet of the coming financial year.”

The Premier flagged NSW Police could expect a ‘real boost’ to wages, with the union currently negotiating with the state government. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Minns also said the state government would petition its federal counterparts so police death and disability insurance cover did not affect the $27,500 concessional superannuation tax cap.

The long-held stoush means NSW police officers must pay a concessional tax rate of 15 per cent for exceeding the cap due to contributions made by employers and employees.

“We also want to fix the problems of concessional superannuation tax that is unfairly punishing so many of your members,” he said.

“On the last point, super and tax are clearly federal government issues.”

Mr Minns comments come after the government’s proposal to deliver a 10.5 per cent boost to wages over three years, which would include a $1000 cost-of-living payment if inflation exceeded 4.5 per cent in that year.

However, the baseline 9.5 per cent offer, with an additional one per cent pump to superannuation, was criticised by peak body Unions NSW.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the pay deal would be backdated to July 1, if negotiations continued after the expiration of the current award on June 30. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

President Mark Morey said the paltry offer would “not assist in retaining existing staff, nor enable us to attract the workers we desperately need to fill ongoing essential service vacancies”.

However, in comments to reporters following his speech, Mr Minns acknowledged “the gap”, and said his government was “open to negotiations with relevant unions about a long term wage deal for the state”.

“That’s going to take time but I’m confident that now that we’ve put out the base case, we can look at the budget, and we can look at pay conditions for NSW public sector workers,” he said.

Police Association NSW president Kevin Morton said Mr Minns’ comments were “encouraging” and said negotiations had been progressing well.

“We’re confident at the position of where our negotiations are at the moment,” he said.

“Negotiations have really ramped up in the last couple of months, so I’m confident we’ll be able to come to a conclusion without having it drawn out for a significant period of time.”

Originally published as NSW Premier Chris Minns flags “real pay boost” to police amid union wage battle