Image: VOLKER Weihbold
The union FSG criticized. “Our request has now been granted at least in part,” said FSG boss Hermann Greylinger. However, it would have been better to extend the measure to all police officers, according to the tenor of the red staff representatives.
In concrete terms, all police trainees throughout Austria receive the climate ticket from the ministry during the two-year basic training course. This also applies to administrative trainees and apprentices. “The regulation will come into force in the summer of 2023,” said spokesman Markus Haindl.
In addition, future law enforcement officers are to be reimbursed for the cost of their driver’s license during their training. “The prerequisite is the positive completion of basic training,” says Haindl. According to the ministry, the costs will then be reimbursed up to a maximum of 1,400 euros. The driving license must then be proven by the sixth month of training. Previously, a driver’s license was a prerequisite for being admitted to the police service.
A reward system for successful recruitment is also planned. “Police officers, but also BMI employees, receive a reward of 500 to 1,000 euros if they successfully recruit a police student. Payment is only made after passing the service test,” the ministry said. “A similar regulation also applies to the recruitment of IT staff or administrative staff,” said the spokesman.
Milder admission criteria
It was only recently announced that the Ministry of the Interior intends to tighten up recruiting and make the profession more attractive. The department confirmed at the end of April that a package of measures was planned. “On the one hand, the innovations include measures to address female applicants, making the candidate experience and the profession more attractive, as well as investments in employee loyalty,” said a spokesman for the APA at the time. Among other things, a lowering of the admission criteria for the sports part of the selection process or the possibility of repeating the test during the police academy if the test result is negative is conceivable. “The points are currently still being planned and reviewed with regard to the type, time and form of feasibility,” said the spokesman. Implementation is planned for this year.
Greylinger saw it as an “alibi action”. “You have to turn bigger screws.” He calls for a fundamental change in the salary and pension system. “These are the real screws that have to be turned,” said the staff representative. “If you join from the age of 26, it is no longer possible to achieve the functional allowance, functional level 4, quite apart from the fact that the salaries for late entrants are more than unattractive,” says the FSG. In addition, the union is demanding leniency in basic military service or the establishment of childcare facilities and other measures to boost recruiting.
Source: Nachrichten
