The Police Officers’ Union on Monday demanded an urgent meeting with the police administration and the government to discuss feast duties, claiming there are not enough officers to do the job.
In a statement, the union said police officers could not be assigned feast duties while also manning police stations.
“What will happen if there’s an emergency?” it asked. It said operations at police stations were already stretched to the limit.
Although agencies such as LESA and Transport Malta will be involved in policing village feasts, police officers retain responsibility for clearing streets. The union questioned whether this should still be a police job.
That concern was flagged by a rival union in a separate dispute last year, which culminated with the union instructing its members not to move cars at Transport Malta's request.
In its Monday statement, the POU said the only way that the police could cope to cover feast duties was if officers were brought in on forced overtime, to the detriment of their families and the public coffers.
The union, therefore, demanded a meeting to discuss these issues.