Gibraltar News Online

F Oliva reports

Frontier work-to-rule could end today * Union calls for construction of new frontier complex

The Policia Nacional has not attempted to interfere or harm the negotiations of the Tripartite Forum or the talks between the Gibraltar Government and Spain, Juan Manuel Sanchez, spokesman for the La Linea branch of the Sindicato Unificado de Policia (SUP), said to the Chronicle yesterday.

(Ed’s note: The start of this paragraph is missing from the Chronicle’s online news report!)… frontier which led to lengthy delays in crossing, their intention had been to apply pressure on the Spanish Government “to deliver on its word” following the signing of the annual police pay review.

It appears that Madrid has finally given the go-ahead for the implementation of the agreement as from the beginning of the week.

And barring a last minute surprise, a general assembly of SUP members at the Comisaria later today should back the formal lifting of all industrial action measures at the border and a return to normality.

“At present we are working normally and this should be confirmed by the assembly today,” he said.

Meanwhile Sr Sanchez has also called for the construction of a new frontier complex with modern facilities and an effective lay-out for the flow of vehicles and pedestrians.

He describes the current frontier as “third-world.”

“There should be two entry points into Gibraltar and two exit points, plus a channel for tourist coaches.

The frontier has to be renovated to get rid of the queues, and if this requires an agreement with the Gibraltar Government, so be it,”.

The Pay Dispute

The pay review had been agreed with the Minister for the Interior on April 5th 2005.

It has been the delay in the implementation of the deal and the payment of arrears that sparked off the work-to-rule action that was initially intended to have effect on a national scale.

The claim was divided in three segments – an increase of 30 euros a month in the basic salary, the consolidation of half the productivity allowance, in effect an extra 55 euros a month, and for the increases to be applied retrospectively to January.

Sr Sanchez accepts that it has been the La Linea-Gibraltar border where the police action has been most noticeable, although was quick to point out that the SUP had instructed its members to apply the work to rule throughout Spain.

He said action in the Algeciras Port had also been taken but there had been intervention by the Spanish Government to reduce its effect.

“There was clear interference to stop our action in the port since this would have created a huge crisis with Morocco.”

Sr Sanchez also argues that the choice of month for the action right in the middle of the summer had had far greater repercussions at the frontier than if this had been done in any other month.

He said that after a four month delay in the implementation of the pay review, the disgruntled policemen had not been willing to wait any longer.

“There are always queues in August because it is always a busier time,” he declared.

Historical Grievances

Meanwhile Sr Sanchez has also drawn attention to the long list of historical grievances that the Policia Nacional have suffered in La Linea over the past decade.

For example the official minimum complement for a city the size of La Linea should be 208 officers. Over the past few years transfers have vastly exceeded arrivals to the extent that today manpower stands at around only 140 policemen on duty.

“There has been a steady decline in numbers since the 1980’s when there were over 200 policemen.

Now with an open frontier and with the expansion of La Linea into the suburbs and the building of new districts, which means greater policing demands, we have a shortage of manpower.”

The SUP hope to fill at least 25 of those long-standing vacancies with the promotion of young recruits just out of the police academy, before the end of the year.

La Linea is also served by two other law-enforcement organisations, the Policia Local/Municipal that is controlled by the Ayuntamiento, and the Guardia Civil.

The general state of dilapidation of the Policia Nacional headquarters in La Linea which is badly in need of reinvestment and modernisation, is another of the pending claims that the police unions are constantly raising with the Ministerio del Interior.

Another irritant that provoked the Policia Nacional into action at the frontier, is that while they were engaged in difficult and lengthy negotiations to extract a 30 euros increase from the central Government for its members, the Ayuntamiento San Roque, that is also controlled by the PSOE, implemented a pay rise of 180 euros for the local police force [policia municipal] over the same period.

“The gulf in the salary of a local policeman, a regional policeman in the Basque Country of Catalonia and a Policia Nacional can reach between 60,000 to 70,000 pesetas, depending on the region. This just rubs salt in wounds, undermines morale and leads to a lack of motivation,” said Sr Sanchez.

As regards last week’s meeting with Salvador de la Encina (PSOE), Sr Sanchez said that the Campo socialist MP was acting as an envoy who affords them a measure of access to the Madrid Government in the formulation of their grievances.

Inter Union Rivalries

Police unions also have rivalries of their own. While the Sindicato Unificado de Policia has traditionally been the majority and dominant union in Spain, other unions have also emerged. The UFP followed suit while more recently the CEP [Confederacion Espanola de Policia] that resulted from the coalition of smaller unions, have now come forward and are attempting to establish a presence in La Linea.

There is some tension in relations between the SUP and the CEP. Sr Sanchez denies CEP claims that the delays at the border were caused not by the work to rule industrial action but by the application of counter-terrorism measures.

The CEP went as far as publicly stating that there was no industrial action at all. Sr Sanchez further describes the CEP as “incoherent.”

Ayuntamiento writes to Central Government

Meanwhile the La Linea councillor for security Francisco Muñiz has written to the Madrid Government supporting the call made from several quarters – including the SUP – for the Policia Nacional to be given the extra material and human resources it requires to continue doing its job “with the same degree of effectiveness and professionalism, despite the shortage of means and officers.”

A similar letter has also been written to Salvador de la Encina reminding him of “the promises made regarding the need for more policemen to be assigned to the La Linea Policia Nacional to fill existing vacancies.”

Sr Muñiz adds that La Linea’s peculiar policing situation is derived from several factors that would require additional resources for the Policia Nacional.

“Its status as a frontier town with the colony of Gibraltar, its long stretch of 12 kilometres of coastline and the geographical proximity with the African continent, result in a significant increase in population during the summer months. Contrary to what happens in other cities there is no reinforcement of the Policia Nacional complement,” he said.

This is the fifth letter on the subject addressed to the Minister for the Interior José Antonio Alonso.

More Delays?

Meanwhile, there have been unconfirmed reports that following the capture in La Linea of a vehicle that had smuggled a notable quantity of tobacco from Gibraltar, the Guardia Civil officers on duty had been reprimanded by their superiors. As a result this could lead to the Guardia Civil implementing tighter customs controls over the next few days.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

Related Articles and Links:

21 August 2005 - PSOE MP to mediate as Frontier action set to continue

09 August 2005 - Work to rule by Policia Nacional creates bottleneck at frontier

08 August 2005 - Noisy frontier protest as car queues worsen

02 August 2005 - Go-Slow does not affect frontier flow

30 July 2005 - Spanish Police declare go-slow at Frontier

Policia Nacional

Spanish Police Trade Unions:

SUP - Sindicato Unificado de Policia
UFP - Union Federal Policia
CEP - Confederacion Espanola de Policia

Revenge attack

Not for the first time Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) officers have been the victims of intimidation.

The RGP last night reported that a person or persons unknown vandalised a private motorcar owned by an officer when it was parked at Drinkwater Road within Laguna Estate.

The police strongly suspect that the culprits targeted the vehicle knowing the owner to be an RGP officer.

Two tyres were slashed, both front and rear windscreens smashed together with the front right passenger window which had its bodywork scratched. Personal property was also stolen from the car.

No other reports of vehicles vandalised in the area have been received and the incident is currently being investigated.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

At first glance, the queues in the ferry terminal seem far from unusual.

But the photo of this queue (not available online!) was taken last Friday at midnight, several hours after the ferry to Tangier was meant to have set sail.

Scores of passengers were left with little option but to stand around waiting for the ship to turn up, in what regular users said was just the latest in a long history of delays involving the Tangier ferry operated by Ferrys Rápidos del Sur (FRS).

In any other port, dissatisfied customers would simply switch ferry operator. In Gibraltar, however, there is only FRS and its £35 round-trip ticket across the Strait.

On Friday, the Tangier ferry should have left at 9.15pm. In the event, it sailed at just after 1am on Saturday morning.

Passengers who had arrived before 8pm to board the ship were left waiting for about five hours, much of that time in the dark and without toilet facilities. The queues, including vehicles, stretched from inside the ferry terminal all the way to the nearby petrol station.

There were men, women and children of all ages there, most of them Moroccans but also including some locals and tourists heading off for the weekend.

Many of those waiting to board the ship said they faced long journeys after arriving in Tangier, with some of them travelling as far inland as Fez, Meknes or Rabat.

The delay in Gibraltar would only add to their journey.

“We’re sick of suffering,” said one Moroccan man. “All we want is for the ferry company to meet their commitments.”

“Why does no one do anything?” another man asked.

Gibraltar Port Authority officials on the scene on Friday said they would look into the continued delays but, in reality, their options for action are limited.

Part of the problem is that the FRS ferry operates several itineraries that include stops in Tangier, Tarifa and Algeciras, as well as Gibraltar. The company makes money by running its vessels on as many itineraries as possible, with each of ship operating five or six round trips across the Strait of Gibraltar daily.

But delays at any of the ports naturally have a knock-on effect on subsequent calls, particularly during this time of the year when hundreds of thousands of migrant north African workers are heading back to jobs in Europe after the summer holidays.

The numbers are truly staggering. According to Spanish authorities, during the outbound phase of the Operación Paso del Estrecho, 1.4 million passengers and 342,357 vehicles caught ferries from Europe to Morocco, most of them from Algeciras.

As of last weekend, 792,884 passengers and 185,166 vehicles had already made the trip back to Europe since mid-July, most of them boarding ships in Tangier.

With nine companies operating services across the Strait of Gibraltar from both Spain and France, congestion in the Moroccan port is a major issue.

“There is a physical reality to contend with because there are only a limited number of berths in Tangier,” said Luis Mora, FRS managing director.

Weather conditions can also have an impact on timetables, not least because the vessel operating the service from Gibraltar to Tangier is a fast ferry, a type of ship whose performance is particularly susceptible to the state of the sea. In simple terms, it has to slow down in rough weather.

“FRS does everything it can to minimise these delays,” Mr Mora said.

“A delay in Gibraltar or any other port will filter through to the subsequent itineraries and cause us problems.”

For the Moroccan community here, which has no other way of getting home but by sea, such excuses and explanations, however plausible, offer little comfort. With no other option but the FRS ferry to Tangier, they can do little more than endure the delays as gracefully as possible and hope for the best.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

The Spanish Government wants to have its own police in Gibraltar’s airport as part of an airport deal - and this is the main difficulty facing the negotiations in the tripartite meetings.

Spanish socialist Jose Carracao, who has a special brief for Gibraltar, has confirmed this, saying that the Gibraltar authorities want to control exclusively passengers arriving at the airport.

Since there will be only one terminal, the question is how to handle arrival of non-EU passengers, which Spain thinks is her responsibility due to Schengen. (The Schengen Convention.

Since no reference is made to EU passengers, it would appear that a deal has already been struck in this respect.

Sr Carracao recalls the warning from Sr Jose Pons, the Spanish director for Europe, who is involved in the negotiations with Chief Minister Peter Caruana and the Foreign Office official Dominick Chilcott.

Sr Pons said on 4 August that we cannot expect the Spanish government to help in Gibraltar’s development by agreeing to an airport deal and at the same time deny access to Spaniards for the management of the airport.

Spain might even be prepared to accept recognition of the 350 telephone code if Gibraltar accepts having Spanish police in its airport. Sr Carracao sees this as the kind of counter-offer Spain could make.

Pensions

Meanwhile, Sr Carracao takes the line PANORAMA has been disclosing in that the British side would expect Spain to contribute to the Spanish pensions settlement. This is seen as a possible breakthrough, as PANORAMA has been suggesting.

Sr Carracao says Spain “may have to make a symbolic contribution”.

While a final figure has not been worked out, it is estimated to be a multi-million euro settlement.

It was a Spanish government which withdrew the Spanish labour force in 1969 and created the problem in the first place, PANORAMA has been saying.

A technical meeting on the pensions is due in October, says the Spanish Foreign Ministry (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores MAE).

Spain might even be prepared to accept recognition of the 350 telephone code if Gibraltar accepts having Spanish police in its airport.

From Panorama, Gibraltar’s Online Daily Newspaper

*Spain could accept ‘350’

Spanish press reports have said that an autumn meeting of the tripartite co-operation process – Gibraltar, Spain and UK – will focus on the Spanish pensions claim.

The reports, which cite Spanish diplomatic sources, come at a time when Jose Carracao, the PSOE senator close to the Spanish Foreign Ministry (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores MAE) and a former Campo Mancomunidad president has publicly stated that he believes that the Spanish Government should also contribute financially to meeting the aspirations of the former Spanish workforce.

Estimates suggest that the cost could be in the 30 million euro mark. Sr Carracao said that Spain should make a symbolic contribution.

Meanwhile Sr Carracao is quoted as saying that one of the problems that remains on airport discussions is the presence or not of Spanish security officials in the airport’s single terminal. He says the problem is the control of non-EU travellers as Spain has Schengen obligations.

Sr Carracao has meanwhile suggested that as part of the negotiations Spain could see its way to accepting the ‘350’ international code for Gibraltar.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

The Rock’s newest political party New Gibraltar Democracy that was formed just weeks ago, has criticised the GSD Government’s announcement of a £2m spending plan for the Upper Rock.

The party is led by well known local lawyer Charles Gomez.

In a statement issued yesterday Mr Gomez has accused the government of resorting to “hype” to “mask its shortcomings in tourism policy.”

And Mr Gomez has drawn attention to the fact that the nature reserve, which forms a major part of the tourist product, lacks toilet facilities.

Mr Gomez said:

“The GSD (Gibraltar Social Democrats) Government says that it has allocated £2m to improve the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. The “Reserve” is our main tourist attraction and includes St Michael’s Cave and several historical sights of which the Moorish Castle has been closed for nearly two years. 750,000 visitors pay several million pounds a year to Government in the form of entrance fees (possibly as much as £4m per year). Yet, shamefully, this major component of our economy lacks something as essential as proper toilet facilities.

After nine years of GSD administration the long delayed decision to provide public lavatories at some unspecified future date is presented amid the customary fanfare and ministerial self-satisfaction. According to the minister, this represents “the very best (his) Government can do.

The people of Gibraltar may think that the GSD’s “very best” is simply not good enough.

Responsibility for this situation lies fully with the elected Government and recurring suggestions by GSD apologists that the fault lies with civil servants is not acceptable.

Meanwhile, the Government must disclose to the people details of what the £2m is to be spent on, what timetable has been set for execution and completion of works, and what players in the industry it has consulted before allocating the £2m to the Upper Rock.”

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

Related Article & Link:

30 August 2005 - £2M for Upper Rock 3 year programme gets underway

Charles A Gomez & Co Gibraltar Lawyer Website

Gibraltar’s Magistrates Court officials were baffled yesterday by the case of a man with no documents who claimed to be from the “Virgin Islands” yet spoke with a marked Russian accent.

The man, who was detained by police after he failed to produce valid papers entitling him to be in Gibraltar, told the Magistrate’s Court that his name was Albert Virgin.

Asked where he was from, he replied “the Virgin Islands”, an apparent reference to the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

But Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto made clear he was unconvinced that Mr Virgin was indeed from the “Virgin Islands”.

“You look and sound incredibly Russian to me,” he told the man. “What language do you speak?”

“The English language,” Mr Virgin replied in a thick Russian accent.

Mr Pitto called in the court’s Russian interpreter, who stood beside the defendant and translated the court’s proceedings.

Mr Virgin, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of being found without a valid permit or certificate, stared straight ahead and barely flinched as the translator spoke.

“I speak only English language,” he told the court again.

The police will now make enquiries with the authorities in the British Virgin Islands to establish whether or not Mr Virgin is telling the truth about his origins. In the meantime, he has been remanded in custody for a week.

The case was adjourned for a hearing in October.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

A local man appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday charged with possessing an air pistol and using it in a threatening manner.

Police were called to a disturbance in Flat Bastion Road on Monday and arrested Stephen Costa, who gave his address in court as 32/2 Prince Edward’s Road.

He had allegedly threatened to use the air pistol to shoot one of the people he had been arguing with.

Crown prosecutor Johan Fernandez told the court that Mr Costa had struggled violently as he was arrested and had head-butted one of the police officers in the chest.

Mr Costa faces charges of using threatening behaviour, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, along with possession of the air pistol and 116 pellets. He was also found in possession of a small amount of cannabis resin.

Mr Costa, who also faces a number of separate charges relating to previous incidents, was on bail at the time of his arrest on Monday.

The hearing was adjourned and he was remanded in custody.

From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

The Reform Party today commented on the new ‘affordable’ housing project at Waterport Terraces.

In a statement issued this morning, the Party said:

“Of course we welcome the principle of this new housing scheme.

It is intended to provide homes for ordinary people rather than investments for
the rich.

We also agree with most of the detailed restrictions on who may apply.

However, the small print in the full eligibility conditions causes us serious concern.

For instance, it is stated that allocation preference may be given to those who contribute more than the minimum 50% of total price in this co-ownership deal. This obviously means that in practice better-off applicants have an advantage in their competition for flats with those on modest incomes.

We also note that within 15 months of allocation any new resident will have to have paid, in monthly instalments, a sum equivalent to more than a quarter of the total (100%) price for the unit.

That means a payment of at least £1700 every month for the cheapest unit and correspondingly more for larger ones. Can people who need this affordable housing really manage that sort of money, even by borrowing? These loans will presumably also incur higher interest rates and unlike mortgages will not qualify for the customary tax relief!

Another issue arises from the variable time-limits before resale restrictions are eased. Those who buy at 50% are constrained for 15 years while for the 100% people it’s only three years.

Unless they’re amended all these conditions will just tend to ‘load the dice’ in favour of those with more cash in the bank than people on ordinary working-class incomes.

From The Reform Party News and Information

Related Articles & Links:

30 August 2005 - Government publishes terms for Waterport Terraces

23 August 2005 - Government announces start of information and sales campaign for Waterport Terraces housing development

Update:

01 September 2005 - Reform Party Newsletter - ‘Green Rock News’ September issue has just been published. It’s available by post (paper version) or Email (electronic version). Email info@reformpartygib.com or Phone Gibraltar (00350) 41073 for your copy in either of the formats.

The usual laid-back attitude we have here in Gibraltar about most things, but in particular drugs and alcohol, two of the most dangerous freely available drugs, a substance that is threatening the future of our youth and Gibraltar’s social well being, says retired Police Superintendent Leo Olivero.

He adds:

This has frustrated me into expressing myself again, after I promised myself that I would never write about this matter again.

He goes on to say:

To come to the point, the Government have let Gibraltar down, big time on drugs and alcohol.

The Government’s drugs strategy is not only going to be a white elephant for them, it’s a circus already full of elephants of different colours.

Going Anywhere?

“Where is this drug strategy going, I don’t think anyone knows the answer, we hear the occasional squeak from the Governments Drug Co-ordinator, when he is prompted to say something when a drug storey hits the news. This drug strategy will be three years old soon; there has been absolutely no affect felt anywhere or by anyone in Gibraltar”, says Mr Olivero.

“Alcohol and drug abuse has in fact seriously deteriorated and is far worse then it was three years ago. Speak to the young, visit places; monitor young people in particular, the situation will hit you in the face.”

“The thinking behind, that this is part of modern day living, and if drugs and alcohol are on the streets or present up the coast, and that it is bound to get on to our streets and amongst our young here. These similar wise and shallow words we keep hearing from those directing this drugs programme for the Government, no wonder the whole drugs problem is out of control”, he said. And added:

“The young are drinking younger, faster, longer, and much more cheaply then ever before. Illegal and legal drugs are being consumed like never before, yes here in Gibraltar, does it shock anyone, it should.
Concern alone not enough

The Government claimed some years back that it was concerned about the drugs problem, this when they launched their drug strategy. Their concern has not been prevalent in anything tangible concerning drugs or alcohol.

Things like changes in the alcohol and tobacco law, advertisement and raising the price of cigarettes, (another hot potato).

I think the Government would rather build Gibraltar’s first Lung Cancer Hospital, then raise the price of cigarettes”, he said.

No one knows the real extent of how bad the drug and alcohol problem is, I have mentioned this before, we last had a survey to determine the extent of the drug and alcohol problem particularly amongst the young nearly fours years ago. It appears no one really wants to know this, how on earth can the drug strategy continue to exist with any purpose, how can the brain(s) leading this drugs strategy, plan the next move, if they are working on drug figures which are practically four years old.

This is the 21st century, and any important community social programme of this nature particularly one on drugs and alcohol, can only survive and be as good and effective as its last set of figures on the issue in hand. The drugs strategy can only be successful, if 21st century planning, organising and thinking is there or there about.

I am also surprised that the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) who have always lead on drugs misuse issues appear to be happy and convinced with the fact that this drugs strategy is moving in some kind of positive way? I say to my former colleagues “there’s something wrong here boys.

Although the RGP may have the occasional arrest on drugs, in the context of the general drug problem, it’s not even touching the tip of an ant hill, never mind a mountain. Drugs arrests have never been a positive or true indicator that any programme to combat drug abuse is succeeding; and if police arrest is being used as a kind of sympathetic barometer for this drugs programme, then we really are in trouble.

I say to the Government, these Tripartite talks my be immensely important, but before we open our doors even wider to the outside world, with the many implications that it is bound to have on us all in Gibraltar, lets do some serious work on a social issue which is a grave threat to future Gibraltarians.”

From Panorama, Gibraltar’s Online Daily Newspaper