BOLIVIA: Striking police supported by their wives storm Bolivian police stations as they demand pay rises and better benefits

Record ID: 340859

  • Title: BOLIVIA: Striking police supported by their wives storm Bolivian police stations as they demand pay rises and better benefits
  • Date: 22nd June 2012
  • Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (JUNE 21, 2012) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF POLICE STATION PROTESTING POLICE INSIDE STATION POLICE ENTERING STATION TO SUPPORT PEERS SIGN SAYING "POLICE WIVES DEMAND: 1. LEVELLING OF SALARIES, 2. 100 PER CENT RETIREMENT AND THE ABOLITION OF LAW 101 POLICE WIVES' TENTS OUTSIDE POLICE STATION POLICE WRITING SIGN SAYING "HURRAY POLICE REBELLION" MORE OF
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • Country: Bolivia
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD0GHI2OG1BNP7QFUIOT4A87VQ
  • Story Text: Violence between striking police officers and other police officials escalated Thursday (June 21) as lower-ranking officers took control of police stations in Bolivia as they demanded wage increases and pension plans.
    The low-ranking officers and their wives stormed a La Paz police station in charge of security for the president among a flurry of tear gas and pepper spray.
    Some of the demonstrators carried banners demanding salary increases, a pension plan and the annulling of law 101 which they say limits officers right to due process guaranteed under the constitution.
    According to local news reports, the striking officers took the building by force and seized guns and ammunition inside the station and kicked out the police chief.
    The striking police and their wives from the National Federation of Police Wives, called for a wage increase among other demands.
    "We are demanding a 100 per cent retirement salary for our comrades for all their years of service while they continue to work. Our next point is to level their salary because many of our comrades have left the force because of the low salary they receive. That is the cruel reality the institution is living today. We don't want the 2003 events (referring to the so-called Black February) to repeat themselves. We are just asking the government to have enough humility to request the commander dealing with these documents to expedite their processing," an unidentified police officer in "rebellion" said.
    Police earn a base salary of $188 a month and don't have life insurance or a pension plan. The top salary for officers with over 15 years of service is $298.
    Government minister Carlos Romero said President Evo Morales' administration was not able to meet the salary demands.
    "This is not a way to respond. This affects the image of the institution. For instance, the fact that they are placing guards to the point of calling their position a police rebellion increases their level of insubordination over the higher authority of the National Police and the state. This is without merit," Romeros said.
    The protests have spread to eight of the nine Bolivian departments, shutting down police headquarters in several areas.
    A police statistics agency said nearly 10 percent of Bolivia's 33,000 police officers were not completing their duties.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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