Nearly two weeks have passed, and some categories of public sector workers have yet to receive payment for overtime hours worked in March and during night shifts.
This includes members of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), nurses, firefighters, correctional officers, and especially police officers, who often work the most overtime hours.
Sources within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MPB) told Dukagjini television that they are considering compensating the additional work hours with days off instead of financial payment.
However, the Ministry has not confirmed this possibility, nor have any other responsible institutions outlined plans for executing overtime payments.
Former Kosovo Police official, Colonel Refki Morina, said compensating with days off should not be an option.
“I believe police officers are more interested in being financially compensated because most of them have family needs and various loans. Almost every police officer has a loan, and basic salaries are not enough,” Morina stated.
Firefighters share the same concerns.
Their representatives noted that delayed payments have happened before and emphasized that days off would cause significant personnel shortages, negatively affecting their ability to carry out their duties.
“It might not be in the firefighters’ best interest because if we give days off due to overtime, the shortage of staff will be evident and could hinder us in performing our tasks,” said Mal Gashi, Commander of the Firefighters in Prishtina.
Following the delay in overtime payments, the Ministry of Finance stated earlier this month that it is up to the respective budgetary organizations to plan their annual budgets properly and ensure sufficient funds are available when approving additional payments beyond base salaries.
