AFTER nearly two years attempting to resist a public sector pay freeze and insisting on substantially higher wages, the Police Federation – which represents rank-and-file cops – yesterday signed an agreement that gives them little of what they demanded, but substantially more than what the government initially had on offer.

Under the government’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with public sector unions last year, government workers agreed to no salary hikes for the April 2004 to April 2005 contract period.

But the Police Federation did not sign the agreement, declared itself outside the MOU and proceeded to demand a pay hike of over 40 per cent over the two-year period.

It called two sick-outs to press its case, and on occasion demonstrating members detained finance minister Omar Davies outside his ministry compound as he headed for a Cabinet meeting.

But yesterday the police signed a heads of agreement which gave no increase on basic pay, but provided a one-off payment, tax-free payment of $50,000 for each member of the force. This will be paid between December and February.

Families of police officers killed on the job will also get a $500,000 increase in their death benefits, taking the payout to $4.5 million. In addition, funeral grants will increase by 50 per cent to $150,000, up from $100,000.

It was not immediately clear what increase on pay these payments will translate to, but government and police sources agreed that it was no way near what was demanded by cops.

“I am signing this with a heavy heart,” lamented one member of the Police Federation’s central executive at yesterday’s ceremony at the finance ministry at Heroes’ Circle. “I am not happy.”

Yesterday’s signing came close to being aborted. At the appointed hour Police Federation officials and their lawyer were still pouring over the document, dissatisfied with some of the language in the agreement.

It was eventually re-worked.

“We intend to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts to ensure that what we get from government will be in keeping with what we have agreed upon,” said the Federation’s chairman Corporal Raymond Wilson.

While not being overly enthusiastic about the terms of the agreement, Wilson said the Federation considered it a platform for negotiations.

Davies has already agreed that he will not ask public sector employees for a wage freeze next year. And the police have said they wouldn’t countenance one.