Steve Whetton Assistant Secretary Police Association
I INDUSTRIAL
Front-line well-being still to be addressed S
APOL replicated its mental-health and well-being strategy in the Response Extended Hours Roster Trial review and evaluation (June 2, 2021). Commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledged that: “Prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of our people is a collective endeavour. In alignment with the SA Mental Health Strategic Plan 2017-2022, we have adopted a whole of employee, work lifecycle, and organisational approach. Now is the time for the entire workforce to accept that we can all contribute to promoting, protecting and restoring the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues.” Support for this statement lies in the South Australia Police Corporate Business Plan 2020-23, which highlights that SAPOL projects would lead to an “enhanced mental health and wellbeing program (2021/2022)’’. But clearly evident is that COVIDrelated duties and insufficient frontline staffing have inflicted a heavy physical and mental toll on members. This has brought about repeated correspondence between the Police Association and SAPOL. The SAPOL annual report of 2020-21 indicated that a daily average of 351 members was removed from their substantive functions to COVID functions, along with 76 police vehicles. The association advocated an increase in protective security officers in order to return members to the front line. But SAPOL has still not addressed the well-being of front-line members: COVID-19 deployments are still in place. 28
Police Journal
Many of these members are in isolation owing to their status as COVIDpositive or a close contact in quarantine. And SAPOL has furloughed unvaccinated front-line members as a result of the Emergency Management (South Australia Police Workers Vaccination) (COVID-19) Direction 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the association has highlighted the additional burdens imposed on members and their families: excessive hours, changes to rosters, border and COVID deployments, cancelled leave. Member frustration is palpable. What SAPOL general orders and policies demand of members, in an env ir on ment of sub s ta ntial understaffing and copious priority taskings on hold, is simply unrealistic. How, in these circumstances, can members deliver the level of response service and administrative actions they provide in normal circumstances? Members face the risk of disciplinary action if they fail to complete administrative functions after a tasking. But, if that failure occurs, it is because members are thoroughly dedicated to their response to banked-up urgent on-hold calls for police assistance.
The District Policing Model Stage two of the SAPOL DPM began on March 26, 2020, as major COVID-19 restrictions took effect. The DPM created instant division among general-duties staff. Members wound up moved from the response function to areas such as District Policing and Public Transport Policing teams. Applicable to these posts are
The district policing model DPT function should be absorbed into the response roster. This would ensure SAPOL has sufficient frontline resources to meet community demand, reduce the ongoing workload intensification, and enhance members’ wellbeing and safety.
different rosters with lower penalty provisions based on variable shift penalties. A trial of a response extended-hours roster began on November 5, 2020, in the Western District (response teams) for 30 weeks (three full rotations of the 10-week roster). The well-being and health benefits which the REHR provides are vital for front-line members and include: • The rapid-rotation cycle of two day shifts, two afternoon shifts, two night shifts and remuneration with the all-inclusive allowance in lieu of current shift penalties. • A minimum 10-hour break between rostered shifts and a paid meal break. The REHR cycle does not average out to 40 hours per week, so it comes without programmed hours off per month. It does, however, average around 30 additional days off per year. This is essential in addressing members’ mental health and well-being. Western District response members currently receive higher remuneration and more rostered days off than do response teams in the three other districts and in the regions. But WD response members are rotated into district policing teams which do not enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits the REHR provides.
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