The Minister of the Interior, Vlaho Orepić, today made a statement to the media at the Ministry of the Interior regarding the budget of the department and news related to police officers’ salaries.
He announced that the Ministry will have 170 million kuna less, što je moguće nadoknaditi reorganizacijom troškova.
– There is simply room in the budget when I speak about the Ministry of the Interior to fulfill this obligation. That is our task and that is why we are here – said the minister.
In response to a journalist’s question about how he will save, apart from abolishing the right to official cars, Minister Orepić stated:
– We will work more rationally, better, and more operationally, and reduce costs to the level of needs.
The minister announced that a salary increase for police officers can be expected soon.
– When I took office, I noticed an unjust ratio in the salaries of police officers and customs officers of the III. category. The difference in coefficients is significant, which I consider unacceptable. I am aware that at this moment we do not have money and we will not reach into the state budget. We will distribute what we have more fairly. The funds of the Ministry of the Interior will be allocated so that we equalize the lowest salary of a police officer with that of a customs officer of the III. category. A police officer has a coefficient of 0.776, while a customs officer of the third category has 0.867 – stated Minister Vlaho Orepić.
He explained that the first step will be to reorganize salaries and allowances, and that around May 1, the coefficient for police officers will be 0.8. The increase applies to 5,911 officers and amounts to an average of 226 kuna.
