The salary of a port police officer ranges from €1,500 to €2,200 per month, depending on seniority, service years and additional payments. However, in the Canary Islands, there is a situation that is beginning to generate dissatisfaction among officers, particularly in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where officers earn up to €200 less compared to Las Palmas.
The national secretary of the Professional Union of Local Police and Firefighters (SPPLB), which is the majority union in Port Police, Artemis Casañas, and their representative in Tenerife, Néstor González, met on Thursday with the president of the Tenerife Port Authority, Pedro Suárez, to achieve “standardisation in resources, training and salaries” at the two state ports in the Canary Islands, as explained by the national spokesperson for the collective.
The salary difference is due to the different salary levels existing between the two port authorities, which by agreement range from 3.2.7 to 3.2.1. In Las Palmas, there is an agreement that promotions move to the latter level, but in Tenerife, there is a mix of levels “without criteria” which adversely affects a good part of the workforce, with discrepancies of €200 in some cases.
According to the union, Suárez is aware of the existing dissatisfaction due to salary inequality and has committed to implementing measures to achieve equalisation, but Casañas considers this starting point insufficient as it is crucial to establish “objective criteria” to assess the work of the officers.
Without that agreement, which has been achieved in Las Palmas, it will be difficult to promote on equal terms while performing the same job, explains the community leader.
The meeting was more positive regarding the other two points to discuss: training and, above all, protective equipment. In this regard, there is intention to equip the entire staff with batons, handcuffs and protective vests, as there is part of the team that does not have access to these basic items.
Additionally, there is a proposal to acquire defensive gel sprays, as well as to sign a training agreement that, like the sprays, is already being implemented in Las Palmas.
The poor condition of the vehicles was another point of discussion. Santa Cruz expects to renew its fleet through a rental system that will soon be put out for public tender. The union considers it essential to equip the new units with partitions for detainees, as well as to unify the corporate image with the vehicles from Las Palmas, which has recently upgraded its fleet.
The SPPLB, beyond good intentions, demands concrete agreements that make those commitments a reality.
