Filenews 22 March 2024 - by Fanis Makrides
philenews reveals the order of the Chief of Police aimed at combating organized crime and which has aroused reactions of members of police unions in the last 24 hours.
This directive was issued last Wednesday, has been sent to all relevant police departments and services and will apply from this evening. According to it, members of the Police who work office hours (07:00 – 14:30) will be asked to perform additional duties in the evening, without being paid for overtime duties. They will receive the appropriate time to rest.
The measure, according to the order from the Police Headquarters, is part of the effort made by the leadership to prevent and combat organized crime more effectively.
In essence, staff performing office hours will be called upon for a period of two months (from today until May) to participate in motorized patrols in order to intensify checks of suspicious persons, vehicles in which they are occupying, but also on premises.
The new data in force are recorded in this order, which reads as follows:
Members working hours between the hours of 07:00 – 14:30, will be assigned duty between the hours of 21:00 – 04:00. Members who will work from Monday to Thursday will not work the next day. Members who will work Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be credited with the appropriate rest time as follows, which they should receive within two months:
· Friday 7 hours X 1.35 = 9.45
· Saturday 7 hours X 1.75 = 12.25
· Sunday (3 hours X 1.75) + 4 hours X 1.35) = 10.65
-Monday (7.5) = 3.15
* For public holidays to receive a corresponding rest period.
It is estimated that daily the affected staff in all cities of Cyprus will exceed the number of 20 people.
Already this measure has provoked opposition from members of the police unions. The police branches of the trade unions of ASDYK (Independent Trade Union of Cyprus Civil Servants) and "Equality" have already issued statements expressing their opposition to this measure.
The head of the police branch of the "Equality" guild, Nikos Loizides, in his statements today to the Third Program of CyBC, spoke of an illegal order from the Headquarters and spoke of alchemy and tricks.
He said that not only would members of the Police be burdened with longer working hours, but he deplored the fact that those officers who perform these duties would not receive remuneration when working on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
He said he had already been in contact with senior members of the Corps, who pledged to examine whether it was feasible to pay affected police officers for these extra duties.
He announced that the members of the Police affected by this measure will appeal to the Courts to be financially compensated for the extra hours they will work. In the same statements, he said that a letter would be sent to the leadership of the police force within the day by the legal counsel of "Equality".
