To All Members
22nd November 2016
Circular 67/16 (b)
VSA Workshop on Proposed Roster Changes
Survey address: DPF VSA SURVEY
The initial response to the DPF survey on shift patterns has been encouraging, but it is essential that as many MDP officers as possible complete the survey, to ensure that we have your thoughts and feelings recorded.
I appreciate that you may well have submitted responses to the Force via the Chiefs request for feedback on his proposals and via the MDP My Say survey, but it is essential that we, the DPF, also have your specific responses to our questions, to avoid the survey being dismissed as being not  reflective of our membership’s  position.
I am aware of the strength of feeling that has already been generated around the proposals to alter the current shift arrangements in the force.  It is the intention of the DPF to ensure that your opinion is represented and that the majority feeling is pushed forward. However, we can only do that based on the evidence you provide us with by means of this survey. If the majority of members do not respond then it would be a simple exercise for others to dismiss the data as not having represented the majorities views – or worse – that our members are content with the Force’s proposals for an eight hour shift pattern.
The survey is on the public side of the website and you only need to enter your force number, so any officer can complete it via an internet connection.
We hope you consider that this matter is important enough to find the short time needed to do so, and that will ensure that your opinions on this highly contentious matter are represented.
We will look to close the survey on Friday 9th December 2016, when hopefully we will have the responses from all of the officers affected by this issue.
Thank you for your time on this and for helping us ensure your voice is heard.
Eamon Keating
National Chairman
Defence Police Federation
