The salary advancement of police officers, firefighters and special constables to the new pay scales, with proposed amendments, was discussed by the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Justice and Public Order, with the committee sending the relevant regulations to the plenary.
In addition, the committee has begun discussing the establishment of a legislative framework governing the public consultation process, a debate that will resume after the opening of the House of Representatives. Also discussed on Wednesday was a bill to amend the criminal code to introduce the offence of practicing a technique or providing pseudo-therapy services to alter or eliminate sexual orientation.
Salary upgrade of the security forces
The Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order, Fotini Tsiridou Councillor of DISY, Fotini Tsiridou, said that the regulations providing for the upgrading of the pay scales of police officers and firefighters, which will be upgraded as of 1/01/2023 from A3-5-7 combined scales to A5-7-8 combined scales and of special police officers from A1-3-5 and A1-2-5 to A2-5-7, were sent to the plenary session.
AKEL MP, Aristos Damianou, said that, albeit very belatedly, a just demand by members of the police and fire brigade for salary upgrades is being led to a settlement. He noted that because there was a risk that the salary upgrade would not be voted through, a recommendation was made, which was accepted, that other issues relating to discipline and other issues in the two forces be revisited after March.
ELAM MP, Sotiris Ioannou, said that upgrading the ranks of the police and the fire brigade was a long-standing demand of these security bodies and "it is with satisfaction that we see it finally being implemented".
The President of the Police Corps Branch of the ISOTITA Guild, Nikos Loizidis said that after decades, the regulations concerning the upgrading of the salary scales of the security forces have been passed today. Loizides thanked the state and all the parliamentary parties, members of the legal committee and police unions who fought for this. Now, he said, the police officers are coming to the salary scale where they should be, "the pedestal where all other professions used to be."
He added that it was also achieved that both conditions for not being promoted up the scale, i.e. not having been convicted of a disciplinary offence in the immediately preceding two years and not having been rated as "below average", have been met. This, he continued, was the wish of the Chief of Police. He also added that if the budget is passed from 1 January 2023, the increases will be paid, which on average on the basic salary is 40-50 euros.
Discussion on the public consultation process
DISY MP Fotini Tsiridou said that regarding the establishment of a legislative framework governing the public consultation process and the planning of political actions, submitted by the MP of the Movement of Ecologists, Haralambos Theopeptou, was discussed and the views of all relevant bodies were taken into account and the debate will be resumed after the opening of the House of Representatives.
The President of the Ecologists-Citizens' Movement, MP, Charalambos Theopeptou, said that today the proposal for a law which he had submitted some five years ago concerning the conduct of public consultation was launched in the Legal Affairs Committee. He explained that there is an obligation as a state that all bills that are being prepared go through public consultation, that is, the public must be informed of the intention of any government to prepare a bill and send it to Parliament and get their views. At the same time, he added that it is a serious matter that anything concerning the environment, any project, programme, policy or anything else "we have a clear legal obligation from the European Union to have a public consultation."
Ms Georgia Christofidou, on behalf of the General Directorate of Development of the Ministry of Finance, said that the Commission has been informed that a platform has already been prepared on which all public consultations organised by all government departments will be posted. He noted that all public consultations will be available in aggregate and at the same time a notification facility will be offered to update the ongoing public consultations.
Discussion on amendment of the Penal Code
Tsiridou added that the proposal for a law by AKEL MP George Koukoumas, on behalf of the AKEL-Left-New Forces parliamentary group, to amend the Criminal Code so as to introduce the offence of applying a practical technique or providing pseudo-treatment services to change or eliminate sexual orientation, was also discussed. He said that an article-by-article discussion had taken place and this proposal would be brought back to the Committee.
On this particular issue, Mr. Ioannou said that on the issue of criminalizing attempts at gender reassignment, a question had been raised as to whether adults voluntarily go to priests after they feel they are sinning or not feeling well and seek help from their spiritual director. Confession, she said, if this law is passed will now be a criminal offence in these cases and "we will see priests taken to court so that they can swear to the gospel to report what was said in confession."[/P Tsiridou said that the Legal Affairs Committee also discussed the bill she and DISY MP Charalambos Pazaros tabled, which concerns an amendment to the 2010 "On Appeal Procedures in Public Procurement" law. He noted that the proposed amendment to the legislation aims to introduce countervailing measures, safeguards, in relation to the right of economic operators to appeal to the tender review authority from arbitrary and malicious refugees who aim to damage the tender process by delaying procedures and hurting taxpaying citizens.
Ms. Tsiridou also noted that the Committee also addressed the issue of developments in the way delayed cases are heard in the provincial courts and the reactions from the legal profession and it was decided that the Legal Committee should register this situation as an ex officio matter.
. Damianou said that it was agreed in the Legal Committee as to discuss the decision of the Supreme Court to issue a special procedural regulation for the adjudication of delayed cases, an issue Damianou said, which has caused chain effects and repercussions with a strike from the legal world. He noted that space and time should be given for dialogue.
Damianou also added that with regard to family law, more than 30 years have passed since the last and only revision of family law. He noted that a proposal in the form of urgency will be submitted to the Plenary of the Parliament, which will repeal the "On attempted conciliation and spiritual dissolution of marriage" so that with full respect for the role of the church, when it comes to civil divorces, they do not depend on an outdated provision that puts the church of Cyprus in the frame of the process. He noted that it is a repealing amendment and also concerns constitutional issues.
Source: CNA
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