Police union threatens to
start mobilising its members
WILLEMSTAD--The police union NAPB has warned Justice Minister David Dick that the union will start mobilising its members starting August 1 if government does not attend to matters concerning the legal position of police personnel.
President Elvis “Chico” Mercelina explained that the unions NAPB and ABVO had signed a covenant that all amendments to the legal position of police personnel should be implemented before September 1. “Bureau DMC did the preparatory work, but government still hasn’t implemented what parties have agreed upon.
“It concerns the civil personnel, new functions for senior collaborators and chief constables,” Mercelina said.
The union leader added that the legal position of the police had changed over a year ago, but still the Justice Minister had not published these changes for the law amendments to be enacted. “It’s only when the law is enacted that the personnel can obtain legal rights. The amendments regulate among other things upgrading of police officers and their career line.”
For years police officers have not receive any additional training and this hampers them in their career, Mercelina said. “New functions within the police force have opened and a selection committee has interviewed and selected several persons who still cannot be appointed in the new function.”
District chief for the police station at Molenplein, Otrobanda and a coordinator for the police station at Tera Kora are two examples of officers waiting for their official appointment in their new function, Mercelina said. The decision to pay the sergeants salary scale 7 with retroactive pay from August 1 is also pending, he said.
Mercelina: “Dick promised to attend to these matters including several other individual cases. We want to sit down with the Minister and attend these issues, but he is nowhere to be found.”
He indicated that if no clarity was provided before August 1 as to how these cases would be attended, the union would start mobilising its members.
