Polish police chief in appeal as officers call in sick en masse
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
07.11.2018 13:57
Poland’s police chief has appealed to policemen across the country to “not let bandits rule the streets" after thousands of officers called in sick amid calls for higher pay and better working conditions.
Image: Geralt/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons
The Wprost weekly quoted police unions as saying that up to a quarter of Poland’s police officers were on sick leave on Tuesday.
Poland’s Rzeczpospolita daily quoted police chief Jarosław Szymczyk as saying in a letter to officers: "I will do my best to improve [your] situation."
“I ask you to understand the situation. We should not let bandits rule the streets,” Szymczyk added in the letter.
In early October, thousands of police and members of other uniformed services took to the streets of Warsaw in a union protest to demand a pay rise of PLN 650 (EUR 150) a month and more favourable pension rules.
According to private radio broadcaster RMF FM, Szymczyk on Tuesday offered a PLN 1,000 bonus for policemen who secure an Independence March in Warsaw on November 11, when Poland celebrates the centenary of its independence.
(tf/pk)