DELHI-Now the Police Officers Say they Want OROP-Cite Long Hours, Danger

Days after the government announced the One Rank One Pension Scheme for ex-servicemen, the men in the Indian Police Service - too say they want the same thing.

In a presentation to the Seventh Pay Commission this week, they have argued that the police "is a uniformed service, it must also be brought under the One Rank One Pension Scheme recently offered to the defence services."

Besides arguing that police officers who have retired in 2006 are drawing less pension than junior officers who retired after 2006, the police have pointed out that 4,000 police personnel died and over 3,500 were injured in the line of duty in 2013 alone. In 2014, more than 3,000 police personnel died.

In contrast, 201 soldiers and officers of the armed forces were killed between 2012 and 2015 (till August 3).

Pointing to the work pressure, the police said, in 2013, it has registered 66,40,378 fresh cases and caught over 74,20,000 people for various crimes.

"Every policeman works 12-13 hours a day," the police association has argued, quoting a recent study by the Indian Police association across 4 states and 6 districts comprising a sample size 680 officers. Pointing to another study comprising 286 policemen, the police association has argued, "police officers work without any weekly or monthly days off".

Besides, a study conducted in two districts - West and South West Delhi - shows only 7.85% of policemen posted in these units are able to avail leave on festivals, they have said.

Making a case for better working conditions and more motivation, the police association has said it wants "Allowance for Un-SocSial Hours".

"Working unsocial hours (8 pm to 6 am) is an accepted part of life," and so, the men should be paid 100 per cent of their salary for every hour worked and officers 10 per cent of their pay for every hour worked, the police have told the Pay Commission.

Not only the workload, the police have told the Pay Commission, but civil unrest the police have to deal with have jumped by nearly 7 per cent.

"Police organisations in 2013, faced 78,444 agitations which was 6.96% higher than the previous year," the police have argued.
Source:NDTV