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The protesters sang the national anthem three times in front of the Assembly of the Republic and chanted the phrase “united police will be defeated”. “It exceeded our expectations”, says a union leader.
JOSÉ SENA GOULÃO
Around 15,000 elements of the PSP it’s yes GNR participated this Wednesday in the demonstration in Lisboncalled by the police union platform, a source from the structure told Lusa, who considered the protest historic.
After an orderly march almost without flags and slogans, the protesters sang the national anthem three times in front of the Assembly of the Republic and chanted the phrase “united police will never be defeated”.
The first time the anthem was sung, the eight police officers guarding the Parliament steps turned towards the main door of the Assembly of the Republic, a gesture that had been requested on social media.
On another occasion when the anthem was sung, members of the security forces turned on their cell phone lights.
The PSP police and the GNR military demand a supplement identical to that given to the Judiciary Police, having been in protests across the country for more than two weeks in an initiative by a PSP agent in front of the Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon, who then expanded to the entire country.
“It demonstrates our level of dissatisfaction”
Today’s demonstration, between Largo do Carmo and the Assembly of the Republic, was organized by the platform made up of seven unions from the Public Security Police and four from the National Republican Guard, created to demand a review of the supplements assigned to the security forces and after the Government approved the mission supplement for PJ careers, which in some cases reached an increase of 700 euros.
“We had high expectations, but what happened today demonstrates the level of dissatisfaction that exists in the security forces. It exceeded our expectations”, the president of the Police Professionals Union Association (ASPP/PSP) told Lusa.
Paulo Santos added that the unions had already warned the Minister of Internal Administration several times about “the state of mind of the police”, with today’s protest and all those that have been taking place across the country a “clear way to demonstrate dissatisfaction.”
The president of the largest PSP union assured that the protests will continue until “a concrete and effective response” is given to the main demand, which is “parity with the PJ”.
The president of the Association of Guard Professionals (APG/GNR) also told Lusa that members of the security forces will continue “to demonstrate their discontent” until the same risk supplement as the PJ is attributed to the PSP and GNR, stressing that they can last until the early legislative elections on March 10th.
César Nogueira reinforced that the Government can still grant the supplement in the current legislature, maintaining that it has the conditions to do so.
Highlighting the thousands of PSP and GNR professionals who were present at the demonstration, César Nogueira said that there is a “mutual feeling among the police that they have once again been disregarded by the Government”.
“We are not against the supplement attributed to the PJ, we are against the mistreatment that the Government once again had with these professionals”, he explained
The demonstration was also attended by members of other unions, such as prison guards and ASAE. The platform of PSP unions and GNR associations organizes another demonstration in Porto on January 31st.