House President and Disy MP Annita Demetriou on Monday met with the Cyprus Police Association (CPA) to discuss disputed police reform plans recently announced by police chief Themistos Arnaoutis, it was announced on Tuesday.

“During the meeting, we analysed the serious implications these reforms have both on the labour rights and well-being of police officers, as well as on the proper functioning and effectiveness of the police force in general,” the association said.

It added that the proposals, as proposed by Arnaoutis, “undermine social dialogue” and could not be approved without prior discussion within the appropriate institutional bodies.

“The operational capacity of the police and the safety of citizens cannot be strengthened through unilateral decisions, without dialogue and without a structured plan,” CPA said.

The meeting was also attended by Disy MPs Nikos Tornaritis, Nikos Georgiou, Fotini Tsiridou and Rita Superman, who, according to the association, assured their full support for police officers and backed the association’s demands.

“[CPA] clearly declares its full and non-negotiable support for all police officers affected by this decision and will continue to utilize every institutional and legal means to defend the rights, dignity and labour gains of members of the police,” the association said.

It emphasised that it remained committed to “remain vigilant” and continue to update the public on further developments on the matter, which has since been registered for discussion at the House legal affairs committee.

Arnaoutis’ proposal was met with fierce backlash from police unions and advocacy groups, which argue that the reforms would alter daily working schedules and significantly reduce officers’ rest days, from 19.5 to 4.7 per month.

Police spokesman Vyron Vyronos later rejected the unions’ criticism, stressing that Arnaoutis was “not in conflict with police officers” and that applying “rational criteria” to improve police operations fell within the chief’s mandate.

He said the reform was not intended to abolish overtime work, but to restrict it to cases where it was genuinely necessary, citing examples of past abuse.

Therefore, he explained, after filling vacancies, the decision for the implementation of a 37.5-hour working week had been made, as had been agreed with the unions in 2019.

He added that the reform proposal concerned staff covering 12-36 working hours shifts who due to extraordinary circumstances such as the pandemic, and due to existing vacancies, had to continue working 40 hours a week, despite the 2019 agreement.

However, the precise content of Arnaoutis’ proposal remains unclear, as no official document has been made public and details so far have emerged primarily through union criticism.