Police demand payment of old overtime pay

THE Cyprus Police Association (CPA) has given the government until January 31 to come up with a way to pay the backlog of overtime pay, which hasn’t been paid since 1993, reaching over £5 million.

The CPA claims that successive governments have ignored the issue for 12 years, leading to unpaid overtime figures reaching £5.3 million.

CPA President Nicos Sophocleous called on the government to convene the Joint Committee on Police Personnel to solve the long-standing problem before the end of the month.

According to Sophocleous, under the new rules, police have the right to participate in protests or demonstrations as long as they are not in uniform and off-duty. They do not have the right to strike.

He would not reveal what measures would be taken after the two-week grace period expired for the government.

Politis yesterday reported that police were infuriated with the government’s treatment of the issue in the last decade, adding that measures could even include uniformed police protesting outside the Finance Ministry or a refusal to work beyond normal working hours.

According to the paper, the police have the backing of Justice Minister Doros Theodorou who ordered the ministry’s permanent secretary, Andis Tryphonides to examine the CPA’s demands and cooperate with the Finance Ministry to find a suitable solution, either paying the arrears directly or over a period of time. Tryphonides is also Chairman of the Joint Committee on Police Personnel.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.