The Ministry of Home Affairs (MAI) has proposed a new salary supplement for PSP (Public Security Police) and GNR (National Republican Guard) officers working in border control.

This has angered the Union of Migration Technicians working at the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), whose workers have demanded this supplement for a long time, without it being granted.

In statements to TSF, the president of the Union of Migration Technicians (STM) makes it clear that she does not dispute the increase that will be given to the police forces.

“There is indeed an immigration police force, now yes, without a doubt,” she states. “All the arguments given for the specific nature of the functions and the reason why this allowance is granted are exactly those that we presented a long time ago – and on several occasions – to the Government and the various supervisory bodies, to justify the same allowance for our function,” she adds.

The union leader believes that the Government needs to define its objectives. “While some address immigration from a security perspective, others address immigration from a documentation perspective.”

Reversing the logic

The PSP and GNR fall under the purview of the Ministry of Internal Administration, while the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum is under the Ministry of the Presidency, TSF reports.

By prioritising the police component and ignoring the technical aspects, the union president believes that the Ministry of Internal Administration is reversing the logic of the reform following the dissolution of the SEF (Immigration and Borders Service) by, in practice, recreating the old border police.

Union sets out demands

Manuela Niza Ribeiro adds that the Executive cannot make different decisions regarding who works in border control. “Why on earth did the Ministry of Internal Administration, within its functions and specificities and competences, assign the same task to both the PSP and the GNR, so why doesn’t the State Secretariat [of the Presidency and Immigration] assign exactly the same thing to AIMA?”, Niza Ribeiro questions.

“It’s not up to each Ministry to do whatever it pleases. Immigration policy is a single one. If there is indeed border control, there is also document control and document analysis. There has to be the same level of respect for the roles on both sides,” she adds. “We have already requested a meeting with the supervisory body, because this was a situation that was on the table before the holidays and we were told it would be analysed.”

The Union of Migration Technicians demands that the Government recognise the technical specificity of these functions, create a technical career path for AIMA workers, and allocate a supplement in accordance with the functions performed by the workers, TSF reports.