It has exposed the Government’s naivety about the final offer arbitration process, the value of non-sworn staff to policing and the devastating impact of the delay on morale. The uncertainty and lack of explanation for the delay have caused unnecessary angst for staff, evident in the mass of communication I have received.

The negative feedback has been largely directed at Police management, but it really needs to be aimed at key government departments and bureaucrats.

It angers me that those people appear to have no understanding of the value of the tireless and dedicated service of non-sworn staff. Police would not be able to deliver the service the public needs and politicians expect without these people. They are the call takers who deal daily with the public in times of crisis. They are the dispatchers who are crucial to the safe deployment of officers and the urgent responses the public needs. They keep the doors of Police stations open. Without them, policing would soon grind to a halt, putting the public at serious risk.

It is particularly galling given that this important group of public servants are predominately lower paid and female: so much for the concerns for the lower paid and pay equity.

This totally unexpected delay should never have happened. From the beginning of the pay negotiations all parties accepted that both sworn and non-sworn would be treated equally, and Police’s final offer position put to the arbiter was costed for both groups.

Police ensured the relevant government agencies were fully informed, approved the Police negotiating position, understood the consequences of losing at arbitration and knew that any decision would have to be applied to Police employees as well.

Negotiations emphasised the needs of the lowest paid, in line with the Public Service Commission guidelines. For this very group to then be affected by funding arguments is particularly unfair.

At the time of writing, I am hopeful this funding impasse is on the verge of being settled, allowing us to confirm the deserved general wage increase for Police employees. The fact remains they should never have had to face this delay and the accompanying stress.

Another inexplicable area of delay is the return to work of colleagues who were impacted by the vaccine mandate orders. I am not sure why they are not already back at work given the court order for the removal of the mandates, and more recently the Government’s dropping of mandates for all but a few workplaces.

It is no secret to any of you that the mandates have been a divisive issue for New Zealand, and it is no different within Police where strong opinions are held on both sides of the debate.

However, it is time for the divisions to be put behind us.

I am in no way minimising the negative impact of the mandates on some members and their families, but those members want to get back to the job they are committed to, and I’d like to see them back.

They were valued staff before being stood down and will be valued when they return.

We need every one of them.