“Pledges must be honoured”, warns syndicate boss
All eyes today are on the first round of meetings taking place between the government and representatives of Portugal’s security forces, which have been mounting strong protests since late last year.
The main reason (the unequal treatment of police by the last government) is just the pinnacle of a situation which has been allowed to dangerously degrade over many years.
In interview with SIC Notícias, Bruno Pereira, spokesman for the Platform of PSP Unions and GNR Associations, said expectations today are “high”, not least because police have been waiting (patiently or otherwise) for months for the “stabilisation of the new government”.
What is expected is “the consequence and compliance with the agreement signed by the now prime minister on this issue,” he stressed – referring to Luís Montenegro’s pledge to tackle the “unjust”, “unbalanced” risk subsidy as quickly as possible.
As to the statement by the new Minister of Internal Affairs Margarida Blasco, who described the negotiation process as the “beginning of the construction of a basis for understanding and conciliation between the entities involved” with a view to “dignifying and valorising the security forces”, Bruno Pereira hopes that the minister “will enter in the best possible way with the best possible right foot and that she will show more than some semantic timidity, as has been somewhat conveyed”.
“I hope that today there will be no such timidity and that an action plan will be put on the table that will give some serenity and peace to these professionals so that they don’t already fall into a situation of discredit – also for a government that has just taken office and therefore sees in them exactly what we expect, which is a democratic commitment to respect a commitment given and the words given are expected to be honoured, as I have said several times, ” he told SIC.
With regard to the separate meetings that the minister has called – with different associations and unions – Bruno Pereira clarifies: “It was a decision by the minister, a decision that I myself didn’t understand, but which certainly won’t jeopardise the progress and successful conclusion of these negotiations.”
In the background simmers statements made last week by the ‘inorganic movement’ within the country’s police forces that has threatened more protests if the risk subsidy issue isn’t quickly settled.
Bruno Pereira has distanced himself from this position, suggesting the document was written with the aim of causing discord and confusion among the security forces.
“I hope it doesn’t contaminate the negotiations. In fact, the only way we can contaminate these negotiations is if we once again bring nothing or very little to the table in a very ill-considered way (…) If not, you’ll certainly understand that we’re fuelling or giving strength to what is the constitution and expression of completely inorganic forces and movements that feed on exactly this”, he warned.
Again, in the background here, is the perceived influence of the ‘far right’ which is now riding high in Portuguese politics.
Bruno Pereira did not refer to this directly, however. He simply said that: “If the government once again doesn’t take a definitive and consistent position on this issue (…) it will be difficult for us to contain exactly this growth – which is a growth that cannot be tolerated and which certainly neither the minister, nor the government, nor I specifically, nor the platform, expect to be expressed”,
In other words, hopes are ‘high’ this morning, but equally there is a lot on the line, not least ‘good sense’.
natasha.donn@portugalresident.com
