Members of the Main Board (GO) of the Trade Union of the Police Administration invited their colleagues to a protest in front of the Government on Thursday due to the unfulfilled promise of a ten percent salary increase.
As stated in the announcement, there seems to be no end to the humiliation of police officers.
"Just when they are hoping that they will at least save these miserable salaries that they have, the ministers slap them again and thus show them that they are not worthy of either respect or appreciation", stated in the statement of GO Union members Igor Rmandić and Željko Pejović.
They asked "how else to interpret the pompous announcement of a 10 percent salary increase made public by ministers (Filip) Adžić and (Aleksandar) Damjanović, and then yesterday receiving a salary that was reduced again".
"And to make the humiliation even greater, they waited for the salary to be paid and only then for the decision on the increase to be published in the Official Gazette. Congratulations, the Government found a way to save money," the announcement states.
Empty and false promises, pats on the back and talk of "it will get better", as it is added, no longer pass.
"Police officers have been put in such a humiliating position that there is not a citizen of Montenegro who does not wonder what we are doing and how long we are ready to remain silent. Not even a moment longer, the last straw," said the statement of the members of the GO Union.
They said that while the salaries of officials and some other services in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are increased by 25 and 30 percent, "police officers are generously promised an increase of up to ten percent".
"This means that it can be three percent and it can be seven or ten percent. This is not the relationship that police officers deserve from this society," the statement added.
Rmandić and Pejović said that in order to protect rights, police officers self-organized and registered a protest in front of the Government building on Thursday at ten o'clock.
"At that gathering, clearly defined demands will be presented with precise deadlines for their realization. If the demands are not met within the stated deadlines, models for further activities have already been worked out," the announcement says.
They invited all colleagues who are able to join them that day. "The call for support and participation in the protest has been sent to all trade union representatives and the Police Administration Union, and we expect their response," the announcement states.
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