Police protest march to Parliament

Police, firies on protest march to Parliament

BY MICHELLE WEBSTER

22 Nov, 2011 04:00 AM

Busloads of police from Wollongong, Lake Illawarra and Shoalhaven commands will head to Macquarie St today to protest at proposed changes to the force's death and disability scheme.

They will be among 3000 off-duty officers from across the state expected to descend upon Parliament House as the NSW Police Association makes its last stand against drastic cuts to injury compensation payouts.

Delegations from the South Coast Labour Council and Fire Brigade Employees' Union will attend to support police in voicing their disapproval at the changes.

The rally is designed to pressure crossbenchers and the Opposition into blocking the bill.

Police Association Wollongong official Bob Minns said the union had been frustrated by a lack of consultation and urged a change of heart from the O'Farrell government.

"Our goal is to get the Government to reconsider, to come back into negotiations for a proper death and disability scheme totally different to what they've proposed to us, which has just slashed our rights without a doubt," he said.

Earlier this month Police Minister Mike Gallacher announced changes to the death and disability scheme which would slash compensation payouts for officers seriously injured on the job.

Injured officers would stay on full salary for six months, but the amount would be gradually reduced to encourage them to undergo rehabilitation and return to work.

For officers who suffer a physical injury, payments would drop from $1,398,701 over five years to $974,743. However, for injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder, total payments would be slashed from $569,292 to $76,786.

A spokesman for Mr Gallacher said the changes were necessary to ensure the scheme remained sustainable into the future.

"We're intent on ensuring police not only have a scheme for the future, but also to ensure as many police as possible can get back to work," he said.

Fire Brigade Employees' Union state president Darin Sullivan said firefighters were keen to support their emergency service colleagues at today's rally. He said there were fears any change to the police scheme could also have repercussions for them.

via illawarramercury.com.au

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