Riquier's criticism targeted the current Minister of Interior Security François Bausch, his predecessor Etienne Schneider, and the police leadership. Bausch was especially criticised, as he was not even present at the meeting. Only half a dozen MPs attended the meeting as well.
The main points of criticism in the speech given by the union president Pascal Riquier were the police reform and the so-called "savings accounts" for working hours. He claimed the police reform mainly focused on money and power, with police leadership making itself richer. Further to that, the head of the police would not keep to the legislation. Broadly, Riquier maintained that the general inspectorate should not only examine the mistakes made by police officers, but should also be conscious of the leadership's mismanagement.
Among other things, the regrouping of police stations has been implemented poorly and "unprofessional" managers in the directorate are bringing the police to the brink of collapse.
Furthermore, the police should be adhering to the law concerning working and resting hours for police officers. Riquier also slammed Minister of Justice Felix Braz concerning the transport of prisoners, which should be managed by prison guards. He even claimed that this venture had been supported by all: Schneider, the director general of the police, and the prison guards, but Braz alone had resisted the change.
Minister of Interior Security François Bausch described Riquier's claims as "unacceptable", and stressed he did not want to continue any arguments. He did express openness to further dialogue with the trade union, provided they act fairly. Bausch above all deplored that Riquier attacked people personally. He affirmed that he supports the police leadership against Riquier's claims.
Bausch confirmed that when he next met with the trade union for a discussion, he would stress to the SNPGL's leadership that such are attacks are unacceptable, especially as the trade union's claims are damaging the police's reputation. As he explained, everybody working as an officer is an ambassador for the police force. As a result, ambassadors depicting such a negative image of the force at large in turn makes recruitment even more difficult.
As for the difficulties recruiting new police officers, Bausch claimed the government and the police leadership both want recruitment to increase. However, the reality is that it is difficult to find appropriate candidates in Luxembourg. He also confirmed that the police leadership is aware of the difficulties in putting the new directive into practice, acknowledging that Riquier had made a point. However, Bausch generally was not impressed by the manner in which Riquier made his issues known.
On Tuesday evening, the director general of the police, Philippe Schrantz, responded to some of the criticisms made by the SNPGL's president, Pascal Riquier. Schrantz conceded that the police failed to recruit sufficiently in 2018. However, he echoed the minister's point that some of the trade union's assertions would damage the image of the police and in turn negatively affect people by dissuading them from becoming interested in police employment.
As for Riquier's assertion of enrichment, Schrantz claimed this was a "human disappointment." He deplored the SNPGL's claims, especially the accusation that the police leadership was disregarding the law. Further to that, Schrantz claimed he did not want to continue the controversy, but highlighted his door would be open for dialogue with the trade union.
