Simon Wade
BULLETPROOF vests are having to be shared among Guardia Civil due to poor planning, according to their union, UnionGC.
They consider it unacceptable that, during the current pandemic and the associated focus on hygiene, officers have to share clothing.
The union blames “poor forecasting” regarding orders to replace the vests that expired during 2020.
A spokesman claimed that due to the expiration of hundreds of vests, orders have been sent out to reassign them to other units, to share when going out on patrol.
It demands the Ministry of Interior expedite the purchase of new vests so that the situation “does not put the life of agents at risk.”
The union admitted that officers, particularly those in Citizen Security, did share them previously, but were assigned individual vests when the Coronavirus pandemic started.
They consider sharing vests, “would be serious under normal conditions” but “it is exacerbated exponentially and the risk that it will pose not only to agents but also to their families the rest of society.”
A protest was held on Saturday, January 2, in front of the Ribadeo barracks in Northern Spain, with plans for others in the future.
The rally was denounced by both the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) and by the Spanish Association of Civil Guards (AEGC), who are also demanding individual vests for all officers.
