Justice Minister Costas Fitiris is set to meet with police union representatives on Friday, January 2, to discuss ongoing security matters, as well as working hours and holiday adjustments, which had previously been publicly criticised by the advocacy groups.
“Our obligations towards society must be fulfilled fully and responsibly, the claims and demands of the staff can and must be raised through institutional dialogue and the prescribed procedures, not through public confrontations that negatively affect the main mission,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Fitiris, who took office following a ministerial reshuffle on December 8, condemned the “unacceptable generalisations” which had been voiced over the police leadership by the unions, urging all parties to work towards a “common direction” to ensure public safety.
Following the new police reform plan by police chief Themistos Arnaoutis, the unions, in a joint statement on Tuesday, expressed harsh criticism over Arnaoutis’ plans, saying it was “a blatant circumvention of labour institutions with unprecedented practices and tactics”.
The unions stressed that working hours could not be modified unilaterally, emphasising that current applicable agreements were the product of dialogue.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Wednesday, Nikos Loizides, head of the police branch of the Isotita trade union, said that he expected Fitiris to clarify the government’s stance on the police chief’s announced reform during the Friday meeting.
“If the government agreed, the police officers will be informed that the government agreed with the [police] chief, if it did not agree, it will show that there is a huge gap between them,” he said.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson Vyronas Vyronas dismissed the unions’ objections to the reform plan, saying that no meetings had yet been scheduled between the unions and Arnoutis to discuss the matter.
“The chief is not battling with the police officers,” he emphasised, stressing that applying “rational criteria” to improve the functioning of the police lay within the very framework of the police chief’s duties.
In Tuesday’s statement, the unions criticised proposed changes which stipulate adjustments to daily working schedules and a reduction in officers’ rest days from 19.5 to 4.7 days.
Responding to the criticism, Vyronas said that, according to the reform proposal, overtime work would not be abolished, but rather applied where there is a genuine need for it, adding that cases of overtime abuse had been observed.
Therefore, he explained, after filling vacancies, the decision for the implementation of a 37.5-hour working week had been made, as had been agreed with the unions in 2019.
He added that the reform proposal concerned staff covering 12-36 working hours shifts who due to extraordinary circumstances such as the pandemic, and due to existing vacancies, had to continue working 40 hours a week, despite the 2019 agreement.
The justice minister had on Tuesday assured that he would proceed with a “comprehensive mapping” of issues concerning both the police, as well as the prisons department.
The justice minister called on those involved “to consider first and foremost their responsibilities towards society and to make the necessary sacrifices in order to ensure the safety of society by the police and the smooth operation of the prisons by the prison guards”.
The latter had repeatedly made headlines in recent months due to serious grievances, including alleged rape cases within the facility and two inmate murders in December, as well as organised crime allegations. A recent report by a European Council committee on the prevention of torture warned of ‘serious problems’ at Cyprus’s central prison in Nicosia.
“[Our aim is to find] substantial, realistic and applicable solutions,” Fitiris said in his statement on Tuesday, adding that these were intended to form the basis for targeted interventions and decisions.
Fitiris emphasised the need of a “unified spirit from the base of the ordinary police officer or prison guard to the top of the pyramid”, to ensure the effective implementation of measures.
“This condition is the primary goal of our program, along with the humane living and professional safety of the personnel. Any deviation will bring negative results and endanger the very existence of the institutions,” he said.
Arnaoutis’ proposal included measures aimed to improve operational capacity, better allocation of police forces, as well as significant technological upgrades by 2030.
These, the police chief said, were aimed at ensuring the Cyprus police could operate as a modern European force, flexible and focused enough to strengthening public and social safety.
The police chief said the current policing model was outdated and still carried elements from the colonial period.
One of the key priorities mentioned in his reform proposal is the creation of a modern coordination centre, for whose development he said the police was close to signing a contract with a private company.
The centre is set to operate as a command, control and communication system and will receive and manage emergency calls via the international emergency number 112.
