Decrying police pay ‘hints at jealousy’

Press, 4 February 1986, Page 13

Decrying police pay ‘hints at jealousy’

Criticism of new police salaries by teachers and lawyers smacks of professional jealousy, says the president of the Police Association, Mr Keith Morrow, the Press Association reports. “Some of this criticism smacks of sour grapes — there’s almost professional jealousy in it,” Mr Morrow said.

He took exception to comments by the Post Primary Teachers’ Association president, Mr Tony Steele, that a secondary school teacher could be in the absurb position of teaching an 18-year-old who could earn far more than the teacher after a 24-week police training course.

“Teachers don’t work at night or on holidays. They are not teaching the 18-year-old at three o’clock in the morning. "They are safely tucked up in their little beds,” Mr Morrow said.

“Why is the P.P.T.A. getting so upset? Because they are still in (for a pay increase),” he said. Mr Morrow objected to comments by a leading Auckland barrister, Mr Peter Williams, who des-

cribed the new police rates as excessive, compared with the training and qualifications required for lower-paid professional careers. “I’m not going to give his remarks any credibility by responding to them, except to say that I would forgo our increases if we could all go on to his salary.” Mr Williams charged $2OO an hour for his services, Mr Morrow said. A “New Zealand Herald” survey found that a constable’s new comprehensive salary was equivalent to that of a senior solicitor, or the deputy principal of a second school, and more than $13,000 ahead of people starting teaching or legal careers. Comparison should be made with a policeman’s basic salary, rather than his comprehensive, which includes overtime, shiftwork and holiday pay components, Mr Morrow said. A constable’s starting salary is $21,474 basic or $31,321 comprehensive. Mr Morrow contrasted the basic salary with a

secretary-typist position now being advertised with the National Party research unit at Parliament. The pay offered was between $19,600 and $20,200, about $l2OO less than a constable’s starting basic pay. "For basically $l2OO a constable will work exposed to the elements, he will take risks, he will scrape people off roads, he will break bad news to relatives, and he will work rotational shifts.” Mr Morrow said it was “fiction” to talk about 18-year-old recruits flooding in and earning “buckets of money.” There were only 41 19-year-olds in the entire police force, and the average age of current trainees was between 23 and 24, he said. Trainees ranged- up to the age of 32, and about half of the recruits were married.

“Certainly there are some (19-year-olds), but the bulk of them are older than 19, and a lot of them have been earning money in other occupations, and they have dropped to come into the police.”