More than 80 pc of Rome's police took sick leave on New Year's Eve

More than 80 percent of Rome's police officers took sick leave on New Year's Eve, putting the Italian city's security in jeopardy.

According to the Mirror, the stunning mass desertion sent shockwaves through Italian politics, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi expressing his dismay on Twitter and promising to change the rules for public sector workers.

Renzi wrote in his tweet that 83 per cent of police did not work 'because of illness' on December 31, following which the rules of public sector employment would undergo changes in 2015.

Meanwhile, the city's police - known as vigili - claimed that the mass absence was in protest to a dispute over pay and conditions, and not due to laziness or a desire to join the celebrations, the report added.