Hesse Police Turn Away From Mainstream Parties as Discontent Grows – Unionists

Andreas Gruen, the chair of the German state of Hesse police union, said that established parties – Christian Democrats and Greens – had been losing support of police staff over their payment policies.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More police officers in the German state of Hesse feel left behind by established parties as they are forced to work more and get paid less, a top unionist told Sputnik on Thursday.

Andreas Gruen, the chair of the region’s police union, said earlier established parties – Christian Democrats and Greens – had been losing support of police staff over their payment policies.

"I noticed this too," Ewald Gerk, the police union’s vice-chairman, said. "When we talk to people we see a divide widening between them and established parties … Frankly, they feel abandoned by public employers."

The coalition government set the annual indexation rate for police salaries at zero and promised a 1-percent rise by the end of their term when they came to power three years ago.

Gerk said Hesse police find it increasingly hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance as their free time is taken up by overtime services, which already make up 2.5 million hours.