Police precincts started to shut down Thursday night, as part of a plan of the island’s police force strike, to make their voice heard. They assure the Government has broken their promises and their pensions will be slashed by more than half. Firefighters also showed interest in joining the strike this Halloween weekend.
In an emergency meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, Governor Pedro Pierluisi made a commitment with union leaders to bring together the country’s police officers to address the issues that led them to decree a strike for this weekend.
The Commissioner of the Police Bureau, Antonio López Figueroa, revealed that during a meeting between Pierluisi, the Secretary, Noelia García, and leaders of the unions, it was proposed that by administrative order those agents who will be retiring soon, while the Fiscal Oversight Board negotiates that the implementation of the first phase of Law 81 is for the benefit of these public servants.
The same measure seeks to grant police, firefighters and custody officers a life pension to members of these security forces who have 30 years or more of service. Those who have at least 30 years of service and who have reached 55 years of age may retire with up to 50% of their salary earned on that date.
Pierluisi also pledged to coordinate a medical plan for retirees through Health Reform and holding a services fair using federal proposals to help them pay rents, mortgages and other essential services to ease their financial burden. In addition, they will be allowed to enjoy the excess days accumulated on their Sick Leave that expires on December 31 of this year until June 2022.
“After the implementation of the Fiscal Plan is carried out, the situation of the total Law 81 will be taken to implement it, as a commitment of the governor with us. The Secretary of the Interior is going to meet with us weekly, with the unions and with this server, and with the Secretary of the Department of Public Security (Alexis Torres) to follow up on the progress ”, declared López Figueroa, who said that the Guild presidents were satisfied with the meeting.
López Figueroa, affirmed that the security plans for this weekend and the Christmas season will continue in force and insisted that the police will report to their work shifts.
However, the possibility of an interruption of services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the celebration of “Halloween” still continues on the table, at the discretion of the police, since according to representatives of the unions, they were not the ones who convened to the stoppage of work in the NPPR, so they cannot cancel it.
The one who has taken the lead has been Gabriel Hernández Ramos, a police officer retired in 2014 with 20 years of service, who organized from New Jersey the first protest that was called in front of the offices of the Fiscal Oversight Board.
