Police pull over Justice Minister during protest
Protesting police officers pulled Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security over for a traffic check during his visit to a police training center in Nieuwdorp on Wednesday. The officers are protesting for a better collective bargaining agreement, ANP reports.
On Tuesday the police unions refused an offer of a 7 percent wage increase. The new collective bargaining agreement will apply to 65 thousand cops. Negotiations stranded recently, and police officers started labor actions, including not issuing fines for minor offenses.
By pulling Grapperhaus over on Wednesday, the unions want to make the Minister talk to police officers. "That conversation is about much more than just the current wage offer", Erwin Koenen of union ACP said to the news wire. "It's also about the problems at the National Police, such as capacity shortages." Earlier this week union NPB said that the police will not rest until "the minister realized how acute their situation is."
Grapperhaus understands the police officers' concerns, he said, according to ANP. "That's why it's good to come back to the table, because that's where you can make agreements", he said. The Minister added that there is already a "good offer" on the table. "We are still waiting for a formal response from unions.
