- AFP union in dispute over salaries as agents threaten to walk out
- Parliament may be forced to “close”
Federal police could be on the move within days, threatening to shut down the country’s parliament.
Officers will walk off the job at Parliament House and key locations including Canberra Airport for the first time to strike over what the union describes as a “toxic” pay deal.
The AFP will not monitor politicians or political events unless there is a “significant” threat, and officers will be temporarily removed from investigations into crimes related to the National Disability Insurance System and the tax office.
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said while there were contingency plans, parliament would have to “shut down” if the threat level became unsafe without federal police.
“Ultimately, what we are trying to do is disrupt Parliament, that is our aim,” he said.
The collapse of negotiations comes after Commonwealth civil servants, including federal police, were offered an 11.2 per cent pay rise over three years with additional work-from-home provisions.
“We are going to make it difficult for them and this is a clear way of sending a message to politicians, particularly the current government, that they need to do more for our members,” Caruana said.
He said three to five days’ notice must be given before industrial action is taken, which would result in police standing down for the entirety of their shifts.
Federal police could walk off the job within days, in a move that threatens to “shut down” the country’s parliament (file image)
The union argues that police officers should not be placed in the same category as civil servants working in offices.
Mr Caruana said AFP police, who were the lowest paid in the country, would leave the force en masse because of uncompetitive pay and conditions.
Under pressure and without resources, six percent of members surveyed indicated they would leave the AFP immediately if the proposed wage agreement was implemented, while more than two-thirds said they would actively look for work elsewhere.
Federal deputies and senators were notified on Sunday of the impending protected industrial strike.
Standing alongside the AFP union in solidarity, independent senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock called on Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to step in and help negotiate a fair settlement.
Senator Lambie said she felt unsafe when police were not receiving pay rises.
“These guys risk their lives every time they put on that uniform… so give them the fucking raise they deserve,” he said.
Senator Lambie said if “anything happens” while the AFP is on strike, the blame will fall squarely on Labor for failing to resolve the dispute.
Senator Pocock said politicians were “very pleased to receive” the biggest pay rise in a long time, even though they were not offering the same conditions to frontline police.
Officers would walk off the job at Parliament House and key locations including Canberra Airport for the first time to strike over what the union describes as a “toxic” pay deal.
“We’ve heard the Labour Party talk a lot about equal work, equal pay, and yet they’re happy for the AFP to be the lowest paid police force in the country,” he said.
Mr Caruana said the skills of AFP officers were in high demand in the private sector and public service.
“AFP agents deal with the worst of humanity and have to enter every day into the dark worlds of paedophilia networks, international drug trafficking, illegal arms dealers and terrorist murderers,” he said.
Senate Speaker Sue Lines told the upper house on Monday that security at parliament would be stepped up and short-term measures had been introduced after protesters managed to scale the building last month.
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