Police paid less than secretaries
Police protesting outside Government Offices. Photo: Styrmir Kári
“Our patience is running out,” warns Chief Duty Officer Runólfur Þórhallsson of the Icelandic Police, referring to current unrest within the police force regarding low wages.
Þórhallsson has worked in the police force for 26 years. His basic wage is ISK 362,000 (approx. €2,550) and has remained unchanged for the past thirteen years. The average basic wage for a secretary is ISK 392,000 (source: VR).
“Our work often involves conciliation, calming down situations and people,” Þórhallsson explains in a recent Facebook post. “Those deciding police wages seem somehow to have got into the habit of thinking that police officers never face any trouble.”
“I do not wish to do down the work of a secretary, but police offers do more than just write reports,” he continues.
Police in Iceland have no legal right to strike and, according to Þórhallsson, the ‘compensation’ for giving up this right was a promise from the government to bring police wages in line with comparable jobs.
He expresses his anger at now earning less than a secretary and accuses the government of going back on its promise by refusing to discuss wage rises with police.
“I can take offenders lying to me, mocking me, belittling me, as they are in a bad place in life, but what excuse do ministers and MPs have?” he concludes.
