Police officers, fire fighters, prison and border guards are taking part in a major demonstration in Poznan, western Poland today demanding more funds for uniformed services and keeping current pension regulations in place.

The protesters are to march through the streets of Poznan and hand their demands to the regional government and to Waldy Dzikowski, the regional deputy of the ruling Civic Platform party.

The 600 protesters that showed up, a far cry from the 4,000 expected, have been marching under the banner 'You cannot save on safety.'

Organisers of the demonstration add that if the protest brings no effect, the uniformed services are prepared to organise a bigger march with some 30,000 officers in Warsaw.

Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration wants to extend the period of officer’s duty of service from 15 years to 25 years before becoming eligible for retirement.  Additionally, budgets have been  slashed across the uniformed services- the police have suffered a 802 million zloty (some 176 million euro) loss, the border guards 138 million zloty (30.2 million euro), the Government Protection Bureau (BOR) by 21 million zloty (4.6 million euro) and to state fire brigades 13 million zloty (2.8 million euro). (jm/mrk/mmj)

Source: PAP