The Prosecutor's Office opens an investigation into García Albiol for police overtime

In the summer of 2021, with Xavier Garcia Albiol as mayor of Badalona, ​​the municipal controller of the City Council, as she has done this year, sent a request to the mayor's office warning of a possible irregularity in the payment of overtime in the Guàrdia Urbana of Badalona (GUB).

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
19 October 2022 Wednesday 04:31
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The Prosecutor's Office opens an investigation into García Albiol for police overtime

In the summer of 2021, with Xavier Garcia Albiol as mayor of Badalona, ​​the municipal controller of the City Council, as she has done this year, sent a request to the mayor's office warning of a possible irregularity in the payment of overtime in the Guàrdia Urbana of Badalona (GUB). The official estimates that these hours cannot be paid to personnel who perform them during their vacation period. In contrast, the head of Human Resources (HR) and the superintendent of the police force issued two favorable reports. Now, the Provincial Prosecutor's Office, following an investigation by the Mossos Internal Affairs Division (DAI), derived from a complaint by the PSU union, has opened an investigation that directly affects the former mayor's decision and allegedly the 2019 exercises. and 2020.

Overtime in July and August 2021 ran the risk of not being paid as a result of a 'suspensive repair' promoted by municipal intervention. The only one who could deactivate the paralysis of the funds, about 400,000 euros, was the mayor, which he did. The decision of the intervenor, just as it happens this 2022, has caused an intense controversy in the GUB, especially in the union sections. For its part, from the municipal government they have assured that "this week they will be charged for this year".

This year 2022, at the beginning of September, the current mayor Rubén Guijarro, has found himself with the same problem on the table, but upon learning that on September 9 the Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor's Office had opened criminal proceedings and required information, he desisted from contradicting the intervention report and has raised the case to the department of the Generalitat that resolves municipal discrepancies, so that it can settle through a conclusive report, whether these amounts corresponding to the 2022 holiday period should be paid. If the report were negative, according to sources municipal "alternatives would be sought to compensate, such as giving days and hours of party in exchange for the emolument". If we had acted like García Albiol, the same sources say, "we would face accusations of prevarication and embezzlement of public funds."

In Badalona, ​​the vacations of the Guàrdia Urbana agents represent a major organizational problem. The labor agreement obliges the workforce to take vacations in July and August, so, despite being a season with a large influx of visitors, such as "providing service to the beaches with two daily patrols," the same sources say, as well as other added services, force to depend on overtime to be able to cover all services. “It is a problem that we are promoting the city touristically and we cannot have enough police staff” they stress. In Badalona, ​​about 70 agents are yet to be incorporated to complete the ideal workforce of the Guàrdia Urbana.

For its part, the Unified Trade Union Platform (PSU) emphasizes that it has not filed any complaint against former mayor Xavier Garcia Albiol, although they understand that this investigation may stem from other complaints filed previously. In 2021, the police union entered a document through the municipal register in which they accused managers and department heads of the Guàrdia Urbana of having charged overtime without having performed it. The Human Resources department, upon detecting possible crimes, referred the case to the DAI of Mossos, which in turn took it to the Prosecutor's Office, which has finally opened an investigation. In this case, García Albiol did not want to make any statements.