Thousands of police voted to accept the bumper pay deal, marking the end of an 18-month dispute over the hike.
The Victoria Police Corporate Negotiation Contract Vote vote closed on February 28, with 76% of its 16,200 voting members agreeing to the deal.
This includes an annual salary increase of at least 4.5% over the next four years, with frontlines receiving an additional 0.5% raise.
However, members will no longer be allowed to access the terms and will be able to cash up to 12 months of sick leave upon retirement.
Wayne Gutt, chief executive of the Police Association, said there is a need to do more to improve working conditions for the troops.
“The finalization of this industrial conflict is just the first step in the raft of improvement that needs to occur quickly to support our frontlines, so we can continue to protect and support our community,” he said.
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“Our attention must move quickly to fill in the gap hole that exists at the forefront, refocusing on recruitment and retention.”
Police and Opposition spokesman for the revision, David Southwick said the much-anticipated agreement was “too late.”
“The police are exhausted. They are overworked, they are low paying, and this government is ignoring the Victoria police,” he said.
The Police Association and Victoria Police signed a principled contract in May with a 16% wage increase over two weeks and four years of nine days.
However, it was knocked back by staff in July, and hundreds of police left their jobs for the first time in 25 years.
The Fair Labor Commission was asked to intervene, but declined and sent the troops and unions back to the negotiation table.
We reached a temporary deal in late January, but had to vote for staff votes for final approval.
Shane Patton comes after being kicked out as Chief Commissioner on February 16th after an unconfident union-led vote by Rank and File officers.
Of the 14,571 union members who voted, more than 12,600 (or 87%) did not feel that Patton could steer or manage his strength into the future.
Patton initially flagged his intention to stay, but resigned two days later, appointing Rick Nugent as deputy chief committee member after the state government decided his position was unacceptable.
Deputy Chief Neil Patterson chased after him after being told his contract would not be renewed.
In November, Patterson was featured on the state’s anti-corruption board on July 2024 for alleged road rage incidents off campus in Haleybury, a private school.
