Ten months passed without any analyses, and now the ministry says that within weeks it will carry out the necessary studies and present suitable solutions to the police and other uniformed services, said Sergeant First Class Jacek Łukasik during a protest in front of the Sejm. Earlier, he revealed that unions which did not oppose the wage increases had been invited to meet with the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Tomasz Siemoniak, to discuss those increases. “Since the Solidarity police union was the only one bold enough to announce a protest, we were not invited,” he added.
At the Sejm picket, uniformed officers and civil servants again voiced their demands. The proposals include a 15 percent salary indexation, tying the budgets of the uniformed services to the GDP indicator, and equalizing the social benefits for civil servants serving under the Interior and Administration, the Justice Ministry, and the Finance Ministry, along with improved benefits for professional soldiers.
Operation “Lucyna”
During the picket, Sergeant First Class Jacek Łukasik served as the chairman of the protest committee of the National Police Council of NSZZ Solidarność. Speaking on the protest, he noted that the ministry held Friday the first meeting of a team tasked with improving service conditions, but the protesting union was not invited, which sparked a broader reaction within the police community and a grassroots effort referencing the so-called Lucyna campaign, which had been described by some media outlets.
– he said.
The media reported that police officers planned to intensify the protest by a mass sick leave, including on November 11 when the Independence March passes through Warsaw.
The union leadership emphasized that it never encouraged people to go to doctors en masse to determine if officers were sick; the actions were rooted in other concerns.
– he added a clarification.
From October 30 to November 11, officers were urged to undertake preventive examinations. Since October is Breast Cancer Screening Month, women were encouraged to see their doctors. As November approaches, a month associated with prostate and testicular cancer screening for men, men were urged to consult their physicians as well. A general practitioner can determine whether an individual is fit for these tests, after which a complete blood count and other screenings may follow.
– he explained.
A frivolous attitude
Regarding the proposals, after Friday’s meeting it was reported that the Interior and Administration Ministry would need several more weeks to analyze the demands, which had already been submitted repeatedly.
– said Sergeant First Class Jacek Łukasik.
A police officer noted that the demands were first presented in December and had since been repeated on multiple occasions.
There had been no analyses for ten months, and now the ministry claimed that in a few weeks it would conduct the needed analyses and present suitable solutions to the police and other uniformed services. In their view, this was disrespectful treatment of police officers, firefighters, and security guards alike. Months had passed with no real analysis. If the ministry could not perform analyses for ten months, what were they really talking about? Were they just toying with the issue? They insisted that this was not a matter of amusement, but of detail. The security of the state must not be compromised.
– he said.
Our conversation
The article reminded readers that Tomasz Siemoniak, the Minister of the Interior and Administration, had organized a meeting with unions of uniformed services but did not invite the only union that organized protest actions, the National Police Department of NSZZ Solidarność. This was notable because the unions did not protest or announce industrial action; they expressed in writing their objection to a 5 percent wage increase next year instead of 15 percent. Because Solidarność was the only union to publicly protest, they were not invited.
– said Sergeant Łukasik in an interview.