Executive Committee of Tirana (Albania)

Executive Committee of Tirana (Albania)

 

November 2nd and 3rd, 2012

 

 The European Council of Police Trade Unions (CESP) – An international non-governmental organization (INGO) of the Council of Europe representing 350 000 police officers from 20 countries (13 of which are members of the European Union) grouping 21 unions – held its Executive Committee in Tirana on November 2nd and 3rd  2012

Due to the economical crisis all over Europe crime is increasing everywhere. CESP expresses its strong opposition to the austerity measures which plunge Europe into a deep economic stagnation or recession. These measures, far from restoring confidence and giving a light of hope to the citizens, only aggravate social imbalances, create more injustices and destroy the European social model.

At this moment, the police officers of the European countries in which the TROIKA (European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) has intervened or is about to intervene are involved in the same fighting processes of their fellow citizens against a blind austerity.

The CESP Executive Committee supports entirely the DECLARATION adopted by the ETUC Executive Committee on their meeting of 17 October 2012 and mobilizes its 21 police unions to join the European trade union movement for a day of action and solidarity on the 14th November 2012, including strikes (law permitting), demonstrations, rallies and other actions in a manner allowing the widest possible participation of European Police Officers in their respective countries.

In this context of strong social tension the theme of the Executive Committee was:

 

 “Psycho-traumatic Situations in the Police Forces – Prevention and Reparation”

 

CESP members remind that:

Police officers are permanently exposed, due to the nature of their work, to incidents characterized by unpredictability, by threats of danger for their physical integrity or by contact with death (road accidents, shootings, suicides, homicides, etc.).

Acts of violence at the workplace and traumatic events can cause significant impact on the psychosocial functioning level and even lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Psychologically, generated suffering may be so high that, following the development of this disorder, problems of anxiety, depression, and abuse of psychotropic drugs, divorce and even suicide among police officers may appear.

CESP members ask for:

 Confidentiality the issue of confidentiality is very important; a police officer who seeks psychological help must feel protected and not exposed by his superiors. The success of such programs is based on the confidence of the police officers and his colleagues or counselors.

Preventive action including a training program, the teaching of effective strategies of stress management that would be specific to the work place and also exercises of simulation using a scenario (visualization of a shooting, a fight, a familial difference, etc.)

Quick post-traumatic support, provided by dedicated specialized services, as the type of

support immediately received after the trauma has an impact on the rapidity and the quality of the recovery.

 Assessment of physical reactions to anxiety, of negative emotional reactions, of an acute stress disorder after trauma in order to identify more quickly persons likely to develop post-traumatic symptoms.

 

CESP members recommend:

The using of scientific tools to prevent and identify psycho-traumatic stress disorder in order to:

 

  • It has to be considered by the police academies and schools that the dimensions of the psycho traumatic risks must be integrated in the initial training program, through a module of comprehension of mechanisms.
  • Determine the relevance of offering psychological follow up or not,
  • Help to decrease the intensity of post-traumatic reactions,
  • Make the return to work shorter,
  • Moderate the prevalence of this disorder in police organizations,
  • Reduce costs related to this issue.
  • Family members of the police officers affected should be involved in the program
  • The total cost of the treatment should be covered by the government
  • The mental health professional should show interest in the work of the police but be independent
  • Counseling after a situation involving a high degree of anxiety should be mandatory
  • Superiors should have a positive attitude towards psychological help. Psycho-Traumatic disorders should always be recognized by the authorities.

Tirana (Albania), 3rd November 2012

Annex

MPA

CESP requests that the Maltese Government take the matter about the increased violence on police officers more seriously and find the way to immediately legislate with an effective law that will deter criminals to effect these crimes. MPA has the full support of all members of CESP in this regard as the well being of our members is one of our top priorities.

CESP urges the Maltese Government to start negotiations with the MPA on their financial requests to ameliorate the relation between the complex working conditions and the take at home pay of such police officers.

CESP urges the Maltese Government to effect the necessary changes for MPA to become a Police Union as has been promised for a very long time.

CPA

Unfortunately there is not the right cooperation between the CPA and the chief of police despite demonstrations on this subject and the situations remains the same or has become even worse. Some of our problems can only be solved by the chief of police and they increase instead of being removed.

CPA wishes to implement a psychology support for all their members if needed and would appreciate to exchange experience with members of CESP who already have such programs and to help us start such a program.

CPA demands to be given official time off to go to conferences abroad and enough time during working hours for their union work. It is not given to us by the Chief of police.

POAXIA

Every station or police service should have one or more mental health professionals (police officers who have been trained for this)

The criteria by which the candidates enter the police academies should be reconsidered and they should be assessed by validated tests to support better evaluation.

CESP urges the Greek Government to apply all the election commitments and hold back all the new reduction round that TROIKA demands from the Greek Police officers salaries.

ANVP

Regarding the psychological resilience of police officers, in The Netherlands, the policies in particular of financial resources prevail. In the Netherlands there are possibilities for a financial amount made available if there is a legal base and it can be shown that the psychological problems is due to service-relate abuse.

ANPV suggests that for psychological problems in these situations it should be proven that the problem is medical and then follow the legal procedure.  Psycho-Traumatic disorders should always be recognized by the authorities.

There is a responsibility for the authorities to take preventative measures to help police-officers with mental problems.

When police-officers are affected by a psycho-traumatic situation the authorities are obliged to help the colleagues.

 

PROLEX

Prolex union has stepped up efforts to defend the legal rights of Romanian police officers and in this way there have been many meetings and negotiations with the representatives of the Ministry of interior but the best solution proved to be proceeding into court.

The main claims and complaints of our union were as follows:

Frequent changes of Ministers of the Interiour and the Management team (4 Ministers in 2012)

Frequent reorganizations of police structures

Appointments in leading positions of incompetent persons and not of police officers with professional training and performance

Very poor medical assistance and lack of life insurance for police officers

 

The executive bureau of Prolex Union considers necessary that a CESP delegation to be present in Bucharest in the first quarter 2013 in order to have international

Support in our efforts

SUP

The police union of Montenegro requests from the Government of Montenegro to sign a branch collective agreement with SUP as soon as possible as well as to assist in solving the housing issues of police officers.

SPPSh

Our police union has monitored the test for recruitment in the police as well as the test for ranking career. There has been an active participation in the meetings of the group responsible for recruitment policies suggesting short term projects and studies to the improvement of working conditions and treatment of social-economical situation of police employees. The activity resulted in the realization of a study for economic and financial treatment of police employees for the period of 2003 – 2011 and the respective recommendations of the current situation.

The priorities of SPPSh are:

 

–         Financial treatment for police employees referring to the recommendations of the study carried out by the union, general directorate of the state police, PAMECA III and ICITAP.

–         Payment for seniority at work starting from the time of the implementation of the new law for state police

–         Life insurance on duty for all the police employees of the state police

–         A daily meal for all the police employees which is not offered to them since 2008 which is contrary to all the approved acts

–         The 13th salary as an obligatory reward at the end of the year based on the law of the state police

–         Payment for overtime and per diems conform to the time limits

–         Following the unmotivated transfers inside the police structures which lead to serious social problems

ASPP/PSP

The ASPP/PSP considers that the predicted cut on the PSP budget to the year of 2013, gathered with the social instability we are living in Portugal, may have huge consequences on the public security, and for that we appeal to the government to review the blind cuts policy that it is being verified in the internal security sector.

ASFIC/PJ

The CESP considered very suspicious, that the availability assumed by the Portuguese government to solve old remunerative problems, from January 1, 2013, in other professional careers,  not happen in the same way to solve the problem of overtime worked in the Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ – Judiciary Police), which has dragged on for 12 years, which means an unacceptable discrimination.

 

The CESP considers extremely serious that the Portuguese government demonstrates total lack of will to find a solution to the extraordinary work in the Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ – Judiciary Police), applying the sentence of the European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe of 17/11 / 2011, under the collective resolution 60/2010 – European Council of Police Unions (CESP) against Portugal.

 

CESP will continue to make efforts in the Council of Europe so that it obliges the Portuguese Government to quickly change the remuneration for overtime Portuguese criminal police (PJ – Judiciary police) in accordance with the European Social Charter.

 

The CESP condemns the ‘errors of judgment’ of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – publicly confessed by this organization – because these errors had an incalculable impact of suffering on the daily lives of citizens Greek Portuguese and Spanish. So, the CESP requires the IMF should apologize and the troika should review the help agreements.

PSS

In the year 2012, after a governmental change, Slovenia faced with even stronger and harder financial cuts and saving measures than in year 2010, when saving measures in Slovenia were firstly imposed. Both existing police trade unions in Slovenia organized common strike of all employees in Slovenian Police. On 31.5.2012 PSS signed a strike agreement with the government which includes some points from a previous agreement of 2010.

At the moment, 5 months since the signature of the agreement have passed. And the government undertakes some non-legal activities, all to avoid realizing our demands, agreed and signed in the document after the strike in 2012. Also the government is preparing with special attention some laws and acts which are step by step leading to disqualify the trade unions inside police, which have been one of the most active trade unions during the last few years in Slovenia. Slovene government adopts and sets daily new laws and regulations, even with emergency procedures, with attention to break down and ignore all agreement from the strike document.

Using priority of extreme power and supported by “voting machine” in national parliament with absolute majority, the government is creating new legislations with the final goal to cancel promises given to all social partners during negotiations. PSS warns the government about violations of Slovene and European legislation, some international regulations and standards which were adopted by the Republic of Slovenia.

Even with great efforts and activities of PSS the government does not show any attention to realize its own promises summarized and signed in the strike agreement. As police officers in Slovenia do not have the right to strike by law or this right is very limited, we started to prepare legal procedures in court in Slovenia and on international level.

On this occasion we would like to ask the leadership of CESP, also all member organizations, to support us with the protest letter to Slovene government (Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Janez Jansa, Office of the Prime Minister, Gregorčičeva 20, 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia).

This will prove that CESP and all member organizations are following the actions of the Slovene government against police officers and are informed about all violations of social dialogue. The main message of CESP should be pointed to non-agreement with that kind of actions and support to PSS in the fight against all non-legal actions of Slovene government.

 

On the 17th November 2012 there will be a strike of all the members of the public sector in Slovenia and PSS will be participating.