Isotita accuses police chief of exceeding authority over shift reform

Isotita intensified its confrontation with police leadership on Wednesday, accusing the chief of police of acting above their legal power and authority over proposed changes to officers’ working hours.

Speaking on CyBC radio, head of Isotita’s police branch Nikos Loizides said the decision by police chief Themistos Arnaoutis to alter the present shift system should have been submitted to the council of ministers for approval before its scheduled implementation in January.

Referring to article 13 of the police law, Loizides said the chief is required to submit recommendations on police duty hours to the cabinet so that regulations can be issued.

“This did not happen. There has been an excess of authority,” he said, adding that the union’s position is supported by a legal opinion from its advisers.

While he avoided directly calling the move illegal, Loizides insinuated the leadership had acted beyond its powers.

He said Isotita had also been informed that the European police confederation (EuroCOP), will send a delegation to Cyprus later this month to examine the matter.

According to Loizides, EuroCOP intends to brief the European parliament, on what he described as the “mistreatment of Cypriot police officers”.

“We have become an international disgrace,” Loizides said, accusing both the police leadership and the justice minister of targeting frontline officers by cutting rest days.

Isotita maintains that the reform would deprive officers of up to 15 rest days annually, claiming that police who previously received one day off for every 20 working days would now be entitled to one day off for every 76.

The union argues that rest days are a protected labour right secured through years of negotiations and that they cannot be altered unilaterally.

Isotita has called for the issue to be examined by the house legal affairs committee in January and has warned it is prepared to proceed with protests and legal action if the plans are not suspended.

Despite meetings with justice minister Costas Fitiris, the union insists that no substantive assurances have been given.

Loizides said the union would continue to act as “both shield and spear” for police officers, insisting that reform cannot be imposed at the expense of established rights and proper legal procedure.