Short-staffed is something of an understatement when it comes to Torrox Local Police station. As many as 18 officers went off sick two weeks ago, leaving just ten colleagues, of whom four are semi-retired, to hold the fort.
While the unions deny that this was a case of unofficial strike action, the majority of the sick notes were handed in after the Town Hall introduced new employment conditions which had not been negotiated or agreed to by union representatives.
The local authority has interpreted the “epidemic” as the officers’ way of “expressing their discontent and therefore a means of putting on pressure”. Acting Mayor of Torrox, Teodoro Ruiz, explained that the sick leave coincided with the distribution of flyers by police unions criticising the local authority.
The situation has been reported to the judicial authorities as the lack of human resources has meant that “the needs of the local people cannot be attended to”, pointed out Local Police chief José Roque.
Meanwhile the remaining officers managed as they could. The night shift was suspended, leaving just one officer to answer the telephone and report cases to the Guardia Civil. During the day just four officers patrolled the municipality while the semi-retired staff manned the police station.
Inevitably concern for citizen safety has grown among the local people. “If there’s something behind this, all 18 should be sacked and made to pick avocados”, said one local pensioner.
