Ecuador raises police, military pay after rebellion

[Judi Lynn]

Ecuador raises police, military pay after rebellion
(AFP) – 7 hours ago

QUITO — Ecuador's President Rafael Correa raised police and military salaries just days after a police uprising over a law scrapping police bonuses.

Correa announced the pay hikes the same day as the law stopping public employee bonus payments took effect; it included unpopular cuts to bonus payments linked to seniority.

The president Monday raised salaries of four military and police ranks, from 400-570 dollars a month. Defense Minister Javier Ponce said the raises were unrelated to last week's turmoil, and had been due since 2008.

On Thursday hundreds of police occupied a police station in the capital and the runway at the international airport, demanding Correa's government scrap the law that was adopted Wednesday by the legislature. By day's end, 10 people were killed in the political turmoil and at least 247 injured.

Correa, whose government had been relatively uneventful in a country long renowned for political instability, insisted the rebellion was a coup attempt.

More:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gDcN3JlItWB_Teuwr09ebKsFguyQ?docId=CNG.b5ed066c5c7b913aee54b25ac349f1b0.2f1

[BolivarianHero]

1. I'm torn...

On one hand, the cops in Latin America are among the world's most corrupt and reactionary. On the other hand, underpaying will make them more corrupt because there will be a stronger incentive to accept bribes, which often amount to far more than what they make.

[EFerrari]

2. Their pay has already doubled under Correa.

The real issue here is, imho, that their pay be regularized away from the bonus system so that accepting bonus money from other actors is not as attractive or as easy to hide. :shrug: