Following a visit to Flores, a union representative reported that the situation in the police stations on the island mirrors that of the national and regional levels, highlighting a “notable lack of personnel” and “equipment gaps,” such as support vehicles.
“Station commanders do what they can. Sometimes they cover their heads and uncover their feet, and vice versa. But that’s the reality we face,” he told Lusa.
The union official visited the two PSP stations on the island today, meeting with officers, police officials, and the mayors of Lajes and Santa Cruz das Flores.
Paulo Pires stated that the retirement of officers has outpaced recruitment because the profession’s attractiveness to young people has declined. “The appeal of the PSP is not what it should be for young people considering a police career,” he noted.
According to the union representative, police officers are “experiencing workload excess,” working many hours with little rest, leading to burnout-related absences: “Ideally, there would be enough officers to work their normal shifts and rest as prescribed, but often this is not the case.”
On the national front, police unions of the GNR and the PSP met on July 21 with the Minister of Internal Administration for an introductory meeting. The ministry has scheduled the resumption of negotiations for September.
After the meeting with Maria Lúcia Amaral, GNR unions gave a positive assessment at that time, while PSP representatives emphasized the urgency of resuming negotiations.
The agenda for September will continue with the demands submitted in January, when talks initiated by the former Minister of Internal Administration were suspended following the government’s collapse. The key topic of discussion remains the revision of the remuneration statute.
