The mayor of the Tarragona Urban Police, Manel Vázquez, has pointed out that they will study whether they need Mossos d'Esquadra agents to cover the city's April Fair.
Last Friday, the municipal police assured that they would no longer work overtime to cover special events as a protest against the failure of the Tarragona City Council to comply with the agreement that allows them to charge these extra hours at the same price as the police.
In an interview, the mayor thanked the Catalan police for their offer and acknowledged: "perhaps we will need support" on some days of the April Fair, "if the demands continue." On the other hand, for this Sant Jordi they will not need more troops.
The April Fair will be held from April 30 to May 5 and the weekend is when the municipal body may be short on staff, indicated the mayor. "
I don't have the numbers yet, but on holidays or weekends perhaps we will need the support of the Mossos," he commented. Vázquez specified that the work of the Mossos d'Esquadra would be to cover those tasks that they share with the Guard. urban and that its troops could not carry out."
If there is a robbery or theft and I do not have patrols to cover the service, it will be the police, because it is also their responsibility," he asserted. "We will cover what is our responsibility as the Urban Police; and what is shared, Mossos will reinforce us with more troops," he remarked.
The police official has evaluated "positively" the help offered by the Catalan police commanders. "As soon as the councilor - Joan Ignasi Elena - showed his availability, they called me and told me that whatever he needed they would put on the table," he explained. On the other hand, he has already announced that for this Sant Jordi day he will have no problems carrying out the planned service. "It's one day in every day and we will cover it without any problem," he assured.
Last Friday in the Tarragona plenary session, around fifty agents from the Tarragona Urban Police demanded salary improvements. The main request was that the council respect the agreement that determines that local police officers must be paid overtime at the same rate as the Mossos d'Esquadra, something that they assured does not occur. Likewise, they also asked for an expansion of the workforce, since they pointed out that there is a lack of personnel and that is why they must accumulate many overtime hours.
