The Police have compulsory arbitration for pay disputes

Chris Hipkins is trying to make an issue of the fact that the offer from the Police Commissioner has not been accepted by the Police Association.

Hipkins will know full well that there is a compulsory arbitration procedure for Police pay claims, and that if the Government is making an inadequate offer, it will only result in the Police Association offer being accepted.

The arbitration process is very unusual. It doesn’t involve compromise. The arbitrator either selects the Commissioner’s offer or the Policer Association’s offer.

What this means is that there is an incentive for both sides to be realistic.

Let’s say inflation is at 6%. If the Government offers 1% and the Association wants 8%, then the Association will win. If the Government offers 5% and the Association wants 12%, the Commissioner will win.

This is different to most other arbitrations where it is a compromise. There you may get bad faith offers of say 1% and 12%, as they will be hoping this will mean any compromise is as low or high as possible.

So if the Government’s offer really is so inadequate, then that is great for the Police Association. It greatly increases their chances of having their claim accepted.

The arbitration factors include “the recruitment and retention of suitably qualified Police employees” and doesn’t include affordability or ability to pay, so I’d say it is likely the Police Association will prevail.