Police unions reject planned pay rise as inadequate

Police unions say a planned 7.5 percent pay rise for statutory officers falls short of their needs. The budget proposal presented by the government allocates an additional 45.3 million euros for their wages, LRT reported.

“A pathetic budget proposal. Once again, public safety is being treated very casually. It seems our government loves antisocial people and newcomers more than those who have taken an oath and serve. The 45.3 million euros for all statutory services is like holy water for a dead person,” Roma Katinienė, head of the Lithuanian Police Trade Union, told BNS on Friday.

Ineta Kursevičienė, head of the National Association of Police Trade Unions, also called the planned increase inadequate. She said that in practice, wages at statutory institutions and in environmental protection would rise by 5 percent, which did not reflect current needs.

Kursevičienė said the police, fire and rescue, border guard and public security services together needed 86.4 million euros for their wage funds. Katinienė said the Police Department alone needed 55 million euros.

Kursevičienė said about 60 to 70 percent of officers currently receive neither a 300-euro allowance for long service nor an increase linked to the minimum wage. Some are therefore forced to take a second job or move to military service.

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has said that officer shortages are partly caused by staff moving to the national defence system for higher pay. Katinienė and Kursevičienė both criticised what they described as a large gap between funding for defence and for internal security.

Last November, officers protesting over pay accused the government of failing to deliver on a promise to raise their wages by an average of 7 percent from 2026. Parliament ultimately approved a 7 percent increase in the officers’ wage fund, raising the pay of the lowest-paid officers by 24 to 162 euros, but unions said that was not enough.

The budget proposal will now be considered by parliament. The union leaders said they would continue talks with parliamentary groups and committees. If the proposal is not changed, they may call officers and the public to support rallies. Kursevičienė said they could also consider welcoming visitors in uniform during Lithuania’s EU Council presidency next year to draw attention to what she called the state’s failure to care for internal security and its people.

The 2026 state budget allocates 1.07 billion euros to the entire interior affairs system.