News

2009 SOPP

February 22, 2009

2009 Station Officers’ Promotional Program

Recently the Union has received a number of complaints that the Department has been informing members who ask that the 2009 Station Officer Promotion Program has been delayed because of ongoing discussions with the Union regarding a reduction in the SOPP from 9 to 6 weeks duration. Whilst it is true that, yes, discussions on revised course content are ongoing, it is definitely not true that this is the reason the first SOPP is not starting in February.

Rather the Department does not expect to have sufficient Station Officer vacancies to justify holding the years first SOPP until April, and this is why the 2009 SOPP will not occur before that date. As for the shortened Program, this is one of the outcomes from the negotiations and subsequent arbitration for a new Award and will ensure that SOPP participants will be off the 10/14 for 3 weeks less than in previous years and, this delay aside, be promoted 3 weeks earlier.

Simon Flynn
State Secretary