Talks on collective agreements for better working conditions for members of the police force are in the pipeline, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said Thursday.

Answering media questions during a press conference on a collective agreement for 130 LESA officials, Camilleri was asked about the state of police stations, most notably the Valletta Police Station and the St Julian’s police station.

The Malta Police Union has published images showing the state of the Valletta Police station, saying that the station is yet another which is “not an adequate working space” for officers – only days after publishing photos of the St Julian’s police station which they described as a “horror house.”

The union also noted how it seems that the last sort of 'maintenance' in the Valletta station was done in 2018 and according to a parliamentary question, only €1,900 had been spent.

Asked about this, Camilleri said that there has been great progress in the rights of police officers in recent years following several collective agreements which improve their working conditions.

Camilleri also said that government has invested in the safety of police officers through the introduction of bodycams.

He said that through the collective agreements there has been works in the stations around the country, whilst admitting that there needs to be more work done in more police stations.

Camilleri said that government will continue to invest in improving conditions for police officers.

Camilleri answered a question about the reality that many police officers have been leaving the work force. He said that police officers leave the work force for various reasons and that there should be a differentiation between those who leave out of retirement and those who leave of their own will.