The civil guards stationed in Africa commissioned by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) have been in a critical situation since last January. There are almost a hundred agents who have not received the monthly allowances that the General Directorate of the Civil Guard must provide for them for nearly three months because they are on a mission outside national territory.
Receiving this money is essential for agents since it is what they use to pay for their stay abroad: accommodation and food to carry out their work. The non-payment, according to the complaint, exceeds 11,000 euros at a rate of 3,700 euros per month.
The agents affected by the lack of subsidy are deployed in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania in different tasks. "The civil guards who are assigned to Frontex in Africa have not received their allowances for more than two months," denounces Pedro Carmona, spokesman for the Unified Group of Civil Guards (AUGC). «How then can they pay for their stay outside of Spain if they do not charge per diem? What is happening?» he wonders. The grouping demands "urgent" solutions.
Carmona warns that without the advance payment of corresponding allowances, as well as without the payment for the month after having worked, it is difficult to face the expense that originates in those countries. «Other police officers do not have that problem. Why Civil Guard yes? It is not the 1st time, “he says.
The agents stopped receiving the allowances last January and despite having claimed them they have not been satisfied so far. From the General Directorate of the Armed Institute they recognize the problem but attribute it to a "specific" fact of the diet recording unit. They assure that they are in the process of solving the problem "as soon as possible". However, three months have passed and the agents have still not received a response nor has anyone contacted them.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency was created in 2004 to help the member states of the European Union and the countries associated with Schengen to protect the external borders of the Community area of free movement. One of its main objectives is to fight cross-border crime and control migratory flows.
This last variable is "essential" for Spain to the extent that it interrupts and controls migration to North Africa that seeks to reach Europe. “The work and presence of the Civil Guard in this project is indisputable, the objective of which is to train the security forces of various African countries in their fight against criminal activities, which leads to a direct impact on the migrations that take place. originate in this region with final destination in Europe. And for this reason, it is essential to offer conditions in which the Civil Guard does not see its activity threatened, ”claims the AUGC.
“It is a shame that they play with the professional and personal lives of the agents since they not only have to put up with low per diem amounts, but also suffer delays in their payments while they are on mission outside their country. For this reason, we demand urgent solutions and ask that action be taken on the matter so that this situation can be resolved as soon as possible. This reality is not only affecting the exercise of the agents but also gives a regrettable and shameful image of the Corps abroad with other countries and police with whom they share the mission".
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