Anger is brewing within the central Paris traffic companies. Since the end of last week, 150 of the 300 police officers assigned to it have been on sick leave. “The colleagues are in burn-out, these are not stops of convenience”, explains to 20 minutes Rocco Contento, spokesperson for the Unity SGP Police-FO union in Île-de-France. In question: the multiplication of the missions entrusted to this service – which however lost more than half of its workforce since 2013 -, the staggered hours or the lack of “recognition of the hierarchy”. “The guys can’t take it anymore, it’s been going on for months. We asked for a substantial reinforcement of staff that we still do not have, ”continues the unionist.
Little known to the general public, this service is in particular responsible for carrying out road safety operations in intramural Paris or prohibiting traffic during demonstrations. Many civil servants denounce the continued deterioration of their working conditions. “When they’re off on weekends, which only happens every six weeks, there’s a good chance that a restriction telegram will fall on Friday. That is to say, they are asked not to move from home because they are likely to be called back if there is an event, ”explains Rocco Contento, stressing that this generates difficulties in their” life. personal and family ”.
“Total disregard of statutory rules”
Since July 9, the restrictions have affected nine of the twelve weekends, the union said. The social situation deteriorated further when some arrested officers were summoned, Monday and Tuesday, by statutory medicine, at the request of the public order and traffic directorate (DOPC) of the Prefecture of Police.
“Normally, we go to statutory medicine at the end of the sick leave to get a resume report. As luck would have it, they were summoned on Monday. Some have seen their stop broken. While they were given by doctors “, affirms the spokesperson of Unit SGP Police-Fo who denounces a” total disregard of the statutory rules which exist in the national police force “. A hundred police officers therefore demonstrated on Tuesday in the 14th arrondissement to support the twenty colleagues who were summoned.
For months the SGP Unit representatives for the PP have been trying to make the DOPC listen to reason, in vain. A meticulous job of undermining family life and the psychic balance of colleagues. The Circul ‘Paris cracks, its humans with it. With the silence of PP. https://t.co/u49sqrni8U
– Linda Kebbab (@LindaKebbab) September 25, 2021
Contacted by 20 minutes, the police prefecture explains that “European regulations on working time impose changes in the work cycles” of these officers because “some work cycles within the national police are no longer compliant and must change by 2022 “. “It is within this framework that the DOPC has initiated a dialogue with the various trade union organizations in order to proceed with this necessary reform. “Concerning the summons of agents by statutory medicine, she claims to have” the right and the practice[r] regularly ”.