56 Police Inspectors sue Chief of Police for unpaid overtime

The officers, who had reportedly been ordered to work over 150 overtime hours, had only been entitled to a ‘disturbance allowance,’ which is capped at 10% of their basic salary

56 senior police officers sue Police Commissioner for unpaid overtime during the CHOGM and the Valletta summit
56 senior police officers sue Police Commissioner for unpaid overtime during the CHOGM and the Valletta summit

Fifty-six senior police officers have filed judicial proceedings against the Commissioner of Police over unpaid overtime hours they worked during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Valletta Summit on Migration in 2015.

In an application filed before the First Hall of the Civil Court this morning, the 56 officers, all above the rank of Inspector, argued that they had been ordered by the Commissioner of Police to work hours “very much in excess” of their normal 46-hour working week and had not yet received any payment for them.

The case was filed after the officers received no reply to official requests for payment.

The officers, who had reportedly been ordered to work over 150 overtime hours, had only been entitled to a ‘disturbance allowance,’ which is capped at 10% of their basic salary.

The disturbance allowance works out to around €1 per hour of overtime, one inspector explained to the MaltaToday.

The maximum payout under the disturbance allowance is understood to be €170, but some officers are reportedly claiming that they are owed amounts in excess of €2,000 for the extra hours they had worked during the events.

The officers' indignation was not helped by the fact that last March it was announced that ranks below that of inspector had been paid CHOGM and Valletta Summit overtime, while the higher ranks remained in the dark as to when they could expect to receive payment.

Some Inspectors are understood to have worked in excess of 500 hours during the events and the global amount of unpaid overtime is estimated to be in the region of €70,000.

Lawyer Robert Abela signed the application.