The Civil Guard has decided to suspend the granting of vacations, permits, and licenses in the Commanderies of Ceuta and Melilla within the package of "extraordinary temporary measures" activated to reinforce security in both autonomous cities, following the migratory crisis resulting from the arrival of more than 80,000 people from Morocco.
In an instruction signed by the deputy operational director (DAO) of the Corps, Manuel Llamas, which Europa Press has accessed, it is explained that the operational situation generated by the "increase in the irregular migratory pressure recorded" in Ceuta and Melilla, combined with the obligation to "ensure the adequate provision of service, the maintenance of citizen security, and the surveillance of the external border of the State," makes necessary the "adoption of certain extraordinary and temporary measures for personnel management."
The document details that this additional effort "is currently significantly diminished by the enjoyment of vacations during the summer period and permits for personal matters," so, in accordance with General Order number 1/2016, of January 22, the enjoyment of these rights "must be compatible with the needs of the service and with the obligation to ensure, at all times, the operational capacity of the units."
The instruction is also based on article 20 of Organic Law 11/2007, of October 22, regulating the rights and duties of the members of the Civil Guard, which "establishes that, in the case of serious alteration of citizen security, serious emergency, situation of urgent risk or public calamity, the civil guards will present themselves at their destination dependency or the nearest one and will make themselves immediately available to the corresponding authorities."
General suspension of breaks, except for those already approved
In this context, "and given the security conditions that must be guaranteed in the two autonomous cities," the Civil Guard "considers it necessary to adopt extraordinary temporary measures regarding vacations, permits, and licenses to ensure the adequate coverage of services in the Commanderies of Ceuta and Melilla."
For this reason, it is established that, "and until further notice from the higher authority, no vacations, permits, or licenses will be granted to the personnel included in the scope defined in the previous paragraph." The order itself specifies, however, that this restriction "will not affect vacations, permits, or licenses whose enjoyment had been previously authorized prior to the issuance of this" resolution, which are maintained under the terms already established.
Criticism from the AUGC: more burden without new agents
Sources from the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) consulted by Europa Press admit that they share the "diagnosis" regarding the situation in Ceuta and Melilla, but disagree with the chosen response because, as they denounce, the order, which they do not question, "does not incorporate a single officer" into the staffing of the two cities. "It is limited to squeezing the availability of those who were already overwhelmed," they have emphasized.
The association also argues that the Ministry of the Interior "suspends rights to two entire commands" and leaves in writing "black on white" that "there is a first-order public security problem." For this reason, they demand that the temporary and exceptional measures be set "a determined period with a review every fifteen days," that "not a single day of the suspended ones is lost and that the extraordinary services are compensated financially seriously."