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Police job dissatisfaction on the rise, union says

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Police job dissatisfaction on the rise, union says
Photo: DPA

The police union has warned of growing dissatisfaction among officers ahead of a survey to be released Friday that shows the depth of police anger about pay and conditions.

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The German Police Union (DPolG) boss Rainer Wendt said Friday that poor pay, mounting work stress and difficult conditions meant that “the dissatisfaction is enormous” among Germany’s police.

The police had been “treated badly” by governments in recent years, he said. The separate Trade Union of the Police (GdP) plans on Friday to release a study on the job dissatisfaction among federal police officers.

“Politicians have to often lied to us,” Wendt said.

Governments had repeatedly promised improvements, only to push through more cuts. Christmas pay, holiday pay and overtime had been gradually eroded while working hours were lengthened, he said.

While governments paid lip service to the bravery of the police, they chipped away at officers’ income. “When it comes to praise and recognition, there is one currency for us – it’s called the euro,” Wendt said.

He said that as work conditions got harder and pay poorer, young recruits would become harder to find.

“The police are getting older,” he said, adding that in a few years, every second police officer would be older than 50.

DAPD/The Local/djw

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