Local police protest affects Toledo’s first marathon

A protest by Toledo Local Police officers over the conditions of their overtime work is affecting the city’s first marathon, scheduled for Sunday 15 November, according to La Tribuna de Toledo. Antonio González, the SPL union’s provincial representative, says 95% of officers who normally work these voluntary shifts have stopped doing so.

According to González, the refusal began almost a month ago. The union says it will continue the protest until its demands are addressed and has not set an end date.

Demands on overtime and staffing

SPL is calling for an increase in the overtime rate and for voluntary shifts to be extended from six to eight hours. González says the council has paid 30 euros gross per hour of overtime for many years and that other municipalities offer higher rates, in some cases twice as much.

“We do not agree with overtime still being paid at the same rate as 20 years ago,” González says. The union representative adds that around 42% of that amount is deducted in tax.

The demands also include treating Saturdays as public holidays and changing the Local Police’s position-related allowance. According to González, this allowance has been adjusted for other council staff, but not for officers.

The representative is also calling for 28 more officers, arguing that staffing levels have not grown despite increasing specialisation and events being held throughout the year.

The option of bringing in officers from other municipalities

The council is considering bringing in officers from other towns on secondment on the days they are needed. González rejects that option because he believes it would not solve the staffing shortages and that those officers are unfamiliar with Toledo’s particular circumstances.

SPL has sent a statement to unions in numerous municipalities asking them not to send their officers to the city to cover overtime shifts. González warns that, if an agreement is not reached soon, the protest could also affect the special Christmas policing operation.

Meetings to resolve the dispute

The mayor and the union were due to meet on the morning of Wednesday 11 November to try to resolve the dispute; the outcome is unknown. Before that, SPL had met the head of public safety, Inés Cañizares, to discuss the demands and other staffing issues.

González highlights the good working relationship since the start of the council term and progress in services and equipment. However, he believes that dividing responsibility for the Local Police between two council departments makes it harder to address their problems; financial matters, he says, fall under the Mobility and Personnel department, with which there have also been recent meetings.