Diego He joined the National Police at the age of 20. First in Bilbao, then in Vitoria, he was a victim of ETA terrorism in 1989, in an attack from which he managed to save his life. He then ended up in Madrid, Getafe and went through a handful of services and units until landing in Melilla, his last destination before moving to the second activity regime without destination for personal reasons, in 2019, today at 58 years old and with a long professional career behind him. Just two months later, he requested his return to active service, as allowed by the salary equalization agreement signed a year earlier by the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police unions and the professional associations of the Civil Guard, without knowing what it would bring him. a long court battle. Now, Justice has ruled in his favor and his fight will allow other colleagues in the same situation to return to the Corps. “The only thing I want is to retire as a police officer,” he told ABC.
Because when that happens and he hangs up his uniform, Diego (he prefers not to reveal his last name) will be 45 years old in the National Police, which is very rare in the State security forces and bodies. “I am a trained police officer,” he says. “I joined at 20 because I loved it, I had no family background. I succeeded and left as a volunteer for the Basque Country,” he explains about his beginnings. But his current situation is far from that of then. The second regime of activity without destination, according to him, “is a kind of early retirement.” In concrete terms, it is an administrative situation that some agents experience before retirement age, either because they have lost the necessary psychophysical capacities or because they have decided to do so voluntarily. Diego belongs to this second group. “If someone left because they had a psychophysical problem, they could come back. But if, as is my case, I decided to leave voluntarily, I could not come back,” he explains to this newspaper. Currently, more than 2,000 agents They belong to the second category of activity without destination, between the two categories, according to union sources.
“If someone left because he had a psychophysical problem, he could come back. But not if he decided to leave voluntarily.
The refusal to allow police officers like Diego to return to active service violates the salary equalization agreement. This is what police unions, such as the Unified Police Union (SUP), have been denouncing for years. They rely on the fact that the annex to the agreement, in its third clause, provided that 100 million euros would be allocated each year to encourage the return to active service of personnel with second activity without destination and unoccupied reserve (Civil Guard), with effect from January 2018. They also comply with Organic Law 9/2015 of July 28, which establishes a series of conditions for their readmission. Among other things, they must undergo refresher training, not have been separated from the General Administration of the State, not have a criminal record for intentional crime or have the psychophysical aptitudes to provide the service. “They did not comply with the agreement and that is why I had to go to court,” Diego denounces.
A thousand euros less per month
His fight is already a question of justice, even if at first it was economic reasons that pushed him to take his case to court. It is not for less. According to Diego, between being active and remaining in a second activity without a destination, the difference is more than a thousand euros per month in the Community of Madrid, to which must be added the various supplements. Regarding Melilla, his last destination, this amount amounts to more than 2,000 euros per month, taking into account the residency bonus of the autonomous cities, as also happens in Fuerteventura and La Palma. “In addition, in these three years there has been a significant increase that has not affected the basic salary, but the supplements. Therefore, it has not increased in the second activity,” he explains. But after more than three years – he took legal action in 2021 with the SUP – his motivations are different. “It is the only thing I know how to do in my life,” he says. “I think I deserve a farewell. I do not deserve this exit after 45 years of service. When I asked for this situation, I was not prepared, because it was not a retirement, it was a parenthesis in my life,” he explains.
“It is a joy for all these agents who, thanks to the penalties won by the SUP, will be able to access the competitions”
He defends his psychophysical conditions, despite his 63 years, and highlights his vast experience as the main argument. “There are services in which you can still contribute a lot to the group, especially experience, obviously,” he defends. Everything indicates that it will finally be heard. He won in the first instance before the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid, although the General Directorate of Police (DGP) appealed the sentence.The Supreme Court ruled in my favor in June. and now I am waiting for the communication that the TSJM must make to the prosecutor’s office so that it can communicate it to the General Directorate of the Police. In short, pure and simple bureaucracy,” he explains.
His conviction, along with that of two other colleagues, has created a precedent and, for the next Personnel Commission, the General Directorate of the Police will call a General Competition of Merits that will include, thanks to these convictions, all second-activity police officers. .who meet the requirements. Thus, in principle, they will be able to opt for any service provided as long as their physical and mental state is correct. “When I am inside, it will be a pleasure for me. “I really want to come back,” he says. Joy also at the SUP “for all those national police officers who, thanks to the convictions won, will be able to access the competitions”, even if they do not avoid showing “a certain bitterness because something that falls under Justice had to be resolved in court.”
