Police criticise Peter Dutton's plan to roll back 'right to disconnect'

The national police union has condemned Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, a former Queensland officer, over his commitment to unwind the right to disconnect after work.

Police have strongly criticised Opposition leader Peter Dutton's promise to reverse laws protecting the right to disconnect from work. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

Key Points

• New laws give workers the right to ignore unreasonable calls and emails outside their rostered shifts.
• Opposition leader Peter Dutton said a Coalition government would repeal changes to workplace laws.
• The Police Federation criticised Dutton, a former Queensland cop, saying police must be compensated for overtime.

Police officers insist they deserve to switch off after work and have denounced Opposition leader Peter Dutton for promising to reverse a new law protecting the right to do so.

Earlier this week, workers secured the right to disconnect under broad-ranging industrial relations changes.

The Coalition says the change will hinder productivity and Dutton has pledged to roll back the rules if he wins the next election.

The proposal from Dutton, a former Queensland policeman, has sparked an angry response from the national police union.

Police Federation of Australia executive Scott Weber called on the Opposition leader to think back to his days in the Queensland Police Service and recognise the importance of switching off.

"This (position) is particularly odd considering federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton once had a career as a frontline police officer and later as a detective," he said.

"I'd ask Mr Dutton to remember when senior police would have made similar calls to him."

The 24-hour nature of policing meant off-duty officers sometimes received calls after midnight requesting information or paperwork.

Though the union understood this was sometimes necessary, Weber said police must be compensated for this time "otherwise it is simply wage theft".

Officers contacted after hours were entitled to overtime in most states, which helped provide a better work-life balance for frontline police across the nation, the union said.

Revoking this right would have a detrimental impact, Weber said, and any politicians opposed must rethink their position.

During Question Time on Tuesday, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke cited the police union's concerns and claimed Dutton's position would negatively affect first responders.

"It is targeted against frontline workers, it is targeted against police, targeted against job security and it is targeted against people ever getting time away from work."