Nikos Loizidis, President of the “ISOTITA” Police Union, responded to the President of the Direct Democracy Party, Fidias Panagiotou, regarding the video the former posted on social media, in which he called on police officers interested in serving on his personal security detail to send him their résumés.

Speaking on the Alpha Kalimera show, Mr. Loizidis clarified that “police officers cannot send their resumes to civilians, whether they are politicians or anyone else”.

As he said, he has already sent a message to Fidia Panagiotou regarding this “misstep,” while he urged his colleagues not to engage in this practice of sending resumes, since “the Chief of Police decides who goes where, where they are transferred, and where they are seconded.”

Regarding the personal security detail for political party leaders and former Presidents of the Republic, Mr. Loizidis clarified that they “number no more than 15–20 people.”

Mr. Loizidis also addressed the issue of promotions, stating that “the praise and promotions go to others,” while rank-and-file officers and front-line police officers “only get a reduction in their shifts and a cut in their salaries.” “It’s good to speak up, because if the unions don’t go to Parliament to tell them the truth about what’s happening, others who go there present them with a different picture,” he added.

When asked to comment on the issue raised by the government—with ministers noting that abuses of sick leave in the public sector must be curtailed— Mr. Loizidis initially explained that in the case of sick leave abuse, “it means there are fake sick leave certificates signed by doctors.” He then asked: “Have investigations been launched to determine whether such criminal offenses exist? They did not do so. They presented two examples to the journalists, selling them a narrative. Of the 55,000, 8% say it takes anywhere from one day to six months.”

“If you want to change regulations, you have to engage in dialogue; you don’t sell a narrative to journalists and the public. You separate the public sector from the private sector—to do what?” he added.

In fact, Mr. Loizidis cited the example of a colleague who crashed his motorcycle during a chase and has been on sick leave for a year and a half. Mr. Loizidis asked, “Am I going to cut this man’s pay if you change the regulations?” Today, Mr. Loizidis emphasized, “there are safeguards in place for everyone. Those who issue the directives should conduct reviews with the medical boards and determine who has committed criminal offenses. This isn’t a matter of changing regulations, but of will, determination, and leadership.”

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