Police demand extra compensation for work during 2005 World Championships in Athletics

Precedent from 1975 Helsinki Summit

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The police would like to receive an additional bonus for working during the World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki next August.
      SPJL, the association that represents Finnish police unions, negotiated the issue with the Ministry of the Interior last week.
      SPJL Chairman Hannu Sainio commented that police officers would deserve extra compensation for committing to such a large project.
      A three-week vacation ban has been planned for police officers, to cover the duration of the games.
     
Sainio declined to discuss any exact figures at this stage. According to his knowledge, such compensation was last paid in Finland during the OSCE summit meeting in 1975, which gathered all world leaders in Helsinki.
      The proposal from SPJL also includes the suggestion that police officers be provided with the opportunity to improve their language skills before the championships.
      In Sweden, the police received a bonus during the EU summit in Gothenburg. The summit led to widespread rioting.
      The Ministry of the Interior is currently pondering the proposal from the police union. Jorma Toivanen, the head of police operations at the ministry, admits that the language skills of the police force could use an upgrade.
     
Hundreds of police officers from around the country will arrive in Helsinki next August to assist their local colleagues. The Defence Forces and the Frontier Guard will also participate.
      So far, the government has allocated two million euros to cover the additional expenses incurred by the police during the games. Most of this money will be spent on accommodation expenses and overtime pay.
      Anti-terrorism efforts have received an additional 500,000 euros. The Ministry of the Interior originally requested 6.5 million euros for the security arrangements of the World Championships, which amounts to around half a percent of the security expenses of the Athens Olympics.
      Toivanen stressed that the missing millions must be found in a supplementary budget for 2005, so that the games can be arranged properly.


Links:
  IAAF World Championships in Athletics, 2005

Helsingin Sanomat