“We demand to stop being considered as disposable parts, as undoubtedly, AIMA would not be operational today without the hiring and precarization of these workers” and “we demand respect for our work, our experience, professionalism, and years of service”, stated in a communiqué from a group representing the organization’s mediators.
Sociocultural mediators are typically hired from AIMA’s partner associations and are supposed to provide technical advice for dealing with immigrants. However, due to a lack of resources, many allege they are performing permanent roles.
The authors of the open letter “End of discrimination among AIMA employees,” distributed 15 months ago, emphasized that the issue of job insecurity “remains unchanged” and is likely worsening, with the recent allocation to the agency of “20.53 million euros until 2028 to hire sociocultural mediation services.”
This “means that, rather than ending job insecurity at AIMA, the government’s intention is to continue hiring workers through established protocols between AIMA and various immigrant associations, which perpetuates the precarity, discrimination, and insecurity these workers experience daily,” continuously “without opening public competitions and without increasing the staff map,” they accuse.
“AIMA will continue to hire fake sociocultural mediators to remain operational,” performing duties “in almost all organic units,” to “address the organization’s permanent needs,” reads the communiqué distributed today.
According to the authors, mediators handle “instruction and analysis of processes, with technical autonomy,” conduct “administrative, advisory, and consultancy functions to leaders,” represent the organization “before external entities,” provide “worker training,” and prepare technical opinions, among other roles.
“These workers perform duties at AIMA, with AIMA’s work tools, their vacations and absences are agreed with the hierarchical superiors at AIMA, using the association only for salary payments,” they contend.
The group of mediators claims to have repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought information and answers from the board regarding the promised salary increases.
On Wednesday, in remarks, AIMA’s president, Pedro Portugal Gaspar, emphasized that human resources have increased, even without extraordinary measures.
In the past year, AIMA increased human resources by 9.1%, a reinforcement made “without any distinctive measure, that is, without any additional supplement to attribute to workers,” nor an external strengthening of staff, he highlighted.
In early September, an official government gazette published a resolution granting AIMA 20.53 million euros until 2028 to hire sociocultural mediation services.
According to the resolution, the 20.53 million euros funding will be phased in by the government to AIMA “for a 36-month period, spread over four financial years, within existing and future sociocultural mediation protocols.”
The document published today states that AIMA “is interested in the continuation of the 16 existing and active partnerships, as well as in forming new partnerships with private entities, in matters significant for attracting, settling, and integrating migrants, particularly concerning sociocultural mediation.”
The agency was established on October 29, 2023, following the dissolution of the High Commission for Immigration and the Border Services.
Subsequently, some responsibilities related to oversight and removal of foreigners were transferred to the newly created National Unit of Foreigners and Borders, within the PSP.
PJA // CMP
Lusa/End
