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Some officers of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) have threatened to embark on a nationwide protest and strike action against their poor conditions of service.
Although no date has been fixed yet for this action, Sierraloaded understands that the decision is not unconnected to the recent deduction of Le300,000 from the officers salary which many personnel described as done without their consent.
This development comes less than 72 hours after the Sierra Leone Teachers Union also issued a 21 Days strike notice as a result of the negligence and lack of seriousness of the Employers panel of the Teaching Service Trade Group Negotiating Council (TSTGNC).
In the same manner, the aggrieved policemen said they would embark on a warning strike to protest against poor working conditions, poor salaries and lack of genuine welfare benefits.
However, while reacting to the proposed strike, head of Police Media, Super-Intendent Ibrahim Kamara said the deduction is a risk allowance which was introduced during the height of COVID-19 in the country. He added that the risk allowance was added to their salaries and were made known as temporal which has reached its termination period.
“During the height of COVID, there was risk allowance added to our salaries as temporal allowance, not fixed allowance
“Its period of termination has been reached, and because it was temporal, it now ceases to be part of our salaries
“So, the word “deduction” is inappropriate, in the given circumstance. The allowance’s period of existence has reached its terminus. We have gone back to the status quo before its temporal introduction”.
“Every single Police Officer was made aware of this, at the time, that it was a temporal risk allowance which could terminate at the right time.”, Ibrahim Kamara said.
