[ad_1]
The president of the Association of Police Professionals (ASPP), Paulo Rodrigues, ceases to function after 14 years, with some achievements and the certainty that he has managed to give visibility to the problems of police professionals.
The ASPP goes to the elections on Thursday and, in an interview with the Lusa agency, Paulo Rodrigues, who decided not to run again, says that trade unionists “are, as a general rule, eternally dissatisfied” and that union work “never stops. ends and you never get “what you would like to achieve.
“But nevertheless, there were some situations that I think are positive. Today, society has a much more real notion of what the real problems of the police are. We managed to give visibility to what was happening to the police, for the benefit, not only of the police, but also of society. We have an institution that has many needs, [que] It has many difficulties in responding to what are the demands of society and that it has not yet adapted to the evolution of society “, underlines the outgoing president of ASPP.
For the 46-year-old union leader, the PSP “has to make great strides” and “invest much more” in attracting young people with the right profile to join the institution’s staff, so that it can respond to the needs of the population. , but warns that “you can not demand excellence and then pay as an amateur.”
“It is important that the government does much more than it has done. During all these years, we have insisted on the importance of making a good hiring, adjusting what salaries are to the reality of the Institution and the requirements of the mission, [nas] compensation and [numa] career that has perspective. What has happened is the opposite. This contempt, this devaluation of a large part of the political power and of the Government has created difficulties “, regrets Paulo Rodrigues.
Despite the obstacles he faced in the 14 years in which he led the largest union association of the PSP, which still represents more than 50% of the police (about 10,000) today, the union leader appreciates “some specific achievements” achieved.
“Namely [o] increase in the supplement for security forces and services from 14.5% to 20%, [o] increasing the uniform from 5 to 50 euros, [ou] the question of reconquering the police as a special body of the Public Function, something that we had lost and that, unfortunately, had to climb the steps of the Assembly of the Republic to achieve this new statute ”, he recalls.
Paulo Rodrigues admits that it is “very difficult at the moment to make great achievements”, revealing that “achieving a small achievement is [preciso] a huge effort. “
This reality, he assumes, “costs a lot” to be accepted by the ASPP, because Paulo Rodrigues believes that the Government, in addition to having a duty to do more, “should listen more” to the largest police union “and adapt policies more. what are the needs of the professionals who walk around the field every day ”and who are“ the least listened to ”.
For the still president of the ASPP, successive governments “have greatly devalued” the security forces, that is, the PSP, because it is not an institution that generates wealth directly.
“[N]In other institutions, whether linked to Finance or other sectors, in which they produce direct wealth for the State, there is a greater sensitivity to look at the problems of these professionals and respond to their needs. The police are the opposite. The police, as a rule, do not create wealth, they impede what is our security. Of course, it ends up indirectly promoting the country, and it has, which then has some influence on the economy. But the truth is that the Government has completely devalued these professionals, ”he laments.
Another reason given by governments for devaluing the PSP is related to the fact that this security force cannot enjoy the right to strike.
“I am aware that if we had this instrument, the governments would certainly have taken another position in the negotiations and in the way of treating police professionals”, underlines Paulo Rodrigues, who leaves ASPP “with the idea that the right wing is starting the strike to be essential or almost crucial for the Government to pay attention, understand and truly listen to police and union professionals ”.
Regarding the emergence of the ‘Zero Movement’, the outgoing president of the ASPP considers that it was born “from the various mistakes that the governments and the National Directorate of the PSP were making” and from the lack of response to the demands of the unions.
“It is important for the Government to have this awareness, because it does not seem to me that this movement, be it this one or others, that it cannot appear in the future. They will appear in the future if the governments continue without responding to the unions, which are the representatives legitimate [dos polícias]”, warns Paulo Rodrigues.
The ASPP / PSP elections are scheduled for Thursday, in which the only candidate is the current vice president of the association, Paulo Santos.
