Police step up early retirement campaign, targeting football

Police unions are stepping up their campaign in support of a new early retirement scheme from this weekend by focusing on professional football.

The unions plan to organise meetings coinciding with Eredivisie football matches, meaning there will be no police on duty. FC Twente-Sparta in Enschede on Saturday and NAC-Ajax in Breda on Sunday have been singled out this weekend.

“The cabinet has still done nothing about setting up early retirement schemes for the police, so the police unions are going to step up their campaign,” Politie In Actie said on its website. Football matches in particular highlight just how difficult policing can be, the unions said.

The current agreement expires in 2025 and allows police officers to retire three years early. However, they often have to make up the shortfall in income from savings, and the force no longer makes pension contributions on their behalf.

Breda mayor Paul Depla told broadcaster NOS that he does not expect any trouble and no police presence was expected at the match anyway. It would have been a different situation if it had been a local derby, he said.

The Dutch football association KNVB said it saw no reason not to let the matches go ahead either.

The police unions began their campaign for a new early retirement scheme in May.