Govt delays police pay deal

Press, 28 January 1986, Page 25

Govt delays police pay deal

By

PATRICIA HERBERT

in Wellington

The Government yesterday failed to shake hands on the police pay deal negotiated last week, instead referring it to the Cabinet Policy Committee for double-checking. The committee meets today and has been given power to approve the package provided it costs

no more than $55.04 million — the cost of the initial offer. The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, said the hitch did not mean the draft settlement had been rejected. It meant only that it had to be audited to ensure it was within budget. He had stipulated, he said, that the amount must not exceed the $55 million spending commit-

ment first envisaged. The industrial advocate for the Police Association, Mr Graham Harding, said the delay would cause some frustration among members but that he did not expect any great problems. He seemed confident that the agreement negotiated on Friday met the parameters laid down by

Mr Lange — a confidence that the Minister of Police, Mrs Hercus, has seemed to share. According to Police Department estimates, personnel costs in the last financial year totalled $132 million, so the extra $55.04 million now on offer represents a significant increase of more than 40 per cent.