Police officers' retirement compensations will be cut in half, and paid leave will be reduced from 30 to 20 days as of Wednesday, November 04, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

Borisov, however, has repeated the words of the Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov, who earlier made clear the measures would not be applied to officers who are currently in service.

A distinction should also be made in working and retirement conditions between police and administration at the Interior Ministry, with the former group retaining some of the current conditions, the PM also believes.

"It is unacceptable" for police officers, to set, without being allowed, an example of "illegal action" to society, Borisov has added, referring to Tuesday's spontaneous protest in the capital Sofia and other major cities.

His comments follow a meeting he has held with the ministers of Interior and Finance over proposed pay cuts for Interior Ministry employees and armed forces' staff.

On Tuesday, thousands of police officers took to the streets across Bulgaria to protest against the cuts, and are planning a new demonstration on Wednesday evening unless the measures are abandoned.

The Finance Ministry surprisingly proposed on Tuesday to cut in half the sum paid upon retirement (from a maximum of 20 to a maximum of 10 monthly salaries), decrease the extra remuneration allocated for each year in service and cut the period of annual paid leave.

Borisov hasn't included a drop in the extra remuneration for years in service among the measures he has approved.

The Bulgarian National Radio quotes him as saying he hopes the same measures will be applied to judges and other sectors where employees are paid substantial compensations upon retirement.

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