Police unions in Cyprus are unhappy with new rules for police officers. Two big unions, Pasydy and the police association, strongly object to the changes. They say they were not asked for their opinion. The unions also feel their rights are being ignored. These new rules will start on January 1, 2026. They will change daily work times and reduce holiday days. This has started a big discussion about work rules for police.
Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis announced the new rules. He called them "utilization of human resources." The main goal is to make sure officers work their planned hours. This means less overtime. Chief Arnaoutis said, "All police officers will work the hours they are supposed to work and not more." He thinks this will help police be available more often. The Ministry of Finance suggested these changes after looking at how things work.
However, the unions are very upset. They said they are "discomforted and indignant" by the announcement. The unions believe working hours are a key part of a job contract. They say management cannot change them alone. The unions also say current work rules were agreed on before. They mention an agreement from 2017 to make police hours like other public service hours. A main problem is that in 2019, working hours were reduced to 37.5 per week. The unions say this was only for office staff.
The new changes are big. Besides changing daily schedules, the most worrying part is fewer holidays. Officers might get only 4.7 holiday days instead of 19.5. Unions think this, with longer work hours, will hurt officers' lives. They feel these changes were announced without talking to them first.
These events have serious results. The police unions warned that making these changes without agreement would be a big mistake. They also said this could damage trust between police leaders and the unions. This could harm work relationships for all police. The unions insist that work rules should be discussed and agreed on by everyone. The next few months will probably have many discussions and maybe protests.