Queensland Police Union slams ‘insulting’ pay offer, a week after endorsing it

A veteran cop has slammed a $540m pay deal as “stone age”, warning it could trigger a mass exodus of officers, as the Police Union boss insists it is a “good deal”.

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior says the latest pay offer is insulting. Picture: Liam Kidston

A Police union district branch secretary has lashed a proposed government pay deal as “stone age” and “lipstick on a pig” and said officers across the state felt they had been sold out.

Gold Coast district branch secretary Billy Kazimierowicz, a union delegate for 25 years, said members were livid and were calling for possible work-to-rule industrial action.

He said the pay deal would lead to a “mass exodus” of Queensland police to NSW and Victoria after officers there won “massive” pay rises of up to 26.5 per cent over four years.

It comes after Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior held a press conference on Thursday, to state that the state wages offer – of 3 per cent and 2.5 per cent for two years – was insulting, but the deal he had achieved for members was good.

“I do like the pay offer,” Mr Prior said on Thursday.

“Just to clarify the deal I said was insulting was the state wages policy.

“The state wages policy is three (per cent in the first year), two and a half (in the second year), two and a half per cent (in the third year).

Premier David Crisafulli and Queensland Police Union President Shane Prior at Parliament House. Picture: Richard Walker

“Now it is insulting to police and it’s insulting to any frontline worker in Queensland.

“Let me be very clear on that. That (the state wages offer) is worth $377 million, the agreement.

“The deal that we struck was $163 million above the state wage policy, which was $540 million.”

Mr Prior said he would not be “getting stuck down in the weeds on that” when asked about a potential vote of no confidence in his leadership.

He said he had not considered stepping down as union president after the online backlash.

“No, not at all, I’m focused on delivering for my people,” Mr Prior said.

Mr Prior said the online commentary and criticism from members had been “really hurtful”.

“To not just me, but deeply for my family,” he said.

Mr Prior said that he believed that once members realised how much they would be paid, by using a calculator tool provided to them, they would believe it was a “very reasonable deal”.

He defended his two week holiday that happened while wage negotiations were taking place.

“Unfortunately for me I booked a holiday 12 months ago that I could not cancel,” he said.

“I obviously had different plans in my life at that time, I did not expect to be president of the Queensland Police Union.”

Mr Prior declined to comment specifically about remarks made by Sgt Kazimierowicz.

“What I will say is that some people complaining are currently on a wage that is $156,000, with their operational shift allowance and they will be on $173,000 at the end of this deal,” he said.

The union said it had agreed in principle to “a historic new pay deal for police worth $540 million”, leading to a major backlash from officers.

The deal, which included an $8000 bonus for frontline police, came after Mr Prior had previously labelled the offer as “inadequate” and falling “well short” of what he said the union was fighting for – eight per cent annual increases.

“We’re stuck in the stone age rubbing sticks together,” Sgt Kazimierowicz said.

“This (pay deal) doesn’t even match inflation. It doesn’t even come close to what NSW and Victoria got.”

Gold Coast Police Union Secretary, Billy Kazimierowicz at Coolangatta Police Station.

Sgt Kazimierowicz said hundreds of Gold Coast police had confronted Mr Prior at a meeting earlier this year and told him it was “a bad angle” for police to align with teachers and nurses in a collective bargaining pay push.

He said the NSW and Victorian pay deals should have been the “barometer” for Queensland police pay negotiations.

“If you’ve got another state getting better pay rises, it kind of raises the bar, and the barometer was quite clear,” he said.

“The membership just wanted a parity deal with NSW and Victoria. All state governments knew that police were leaving in droves – we’ve had enough.”

Sgt Kazimierowicz said the police union had a major bargaining chip after Premier Crisafulli’s election pledge to reduce youth crime, but had failed to play it.

He said Mr Prior and the union leadership would now embark on a statewide tour across the state to try to sell the pay deal.

“Mate, you can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig,” he said.

“You can sell it any way you want, but it’s still a bad deal.”

After a press conference with the government on Tuesday, police officers unleashed on the union’s public Facebook about the deal, describing it as the “worst ever”.

The backlash included union representatives who publicly said the “union membership should vote no on this rubbish”, describing it as a “pig of a deal”.

Mr Prior wrote to members on Wednesday night, further explaining their entitlements when considering cash retention bonuses and shift allowance increases.

The Queensland Police Service welcomes 42 new police officers following their graduation.

“I understand the workforce is under an extraordinary amount of pressure and coupled with a lack of immediate information this culminated in a lot stress and intense emotions,” Mr Prior wrote to members.

“As the President, I take full responsibility for that and apologise. I said from my first day in this role that not everything I do will be right but I will own my mistakes.

“From the start of the EB process I clearly said the State Wages Offer was insulting and I still believe it is, police in this state are being asked to do not only their own jobs but also take on the workload for other Government Departments.

“At the negotiating table the Government was completely inflexible with any departure from its Wage Policy.

“It was made clear during the negotiations that extensions of the operative date would not be supported and losing the operative date would cost our members a significant amount of back-pay and superannuation, especially those on Defined Benefit.

“Therefore, the EB negotiating team I led made a strategic move to source additional benefits and cash payments that are not being offered to the rest of the public service, including frontline workers.

“This organisation had to adapt to the negotiating environment and we have achieved a positive result with $163 million above the initial offer.

“The only people arresting criminals and youth offenders in this State are police and the Premier knows it I used this vulnerability to achieve a cash retention bonus for General Duties, and a further $63 million for a pay point restructure and significant increases to nightshift penalties.”

Mr Prior said members would ultimately have the final say if they accepted the pay offer when they vote in September.

Originally published as Queensland Police Union slams ‘insulting’ pay offer, a week after endorsing it