Last September, the Valencian Community Ombudsman hired an expert in Childhood and Adolescence, the former head of Quality and Innovation of Social Services of the Elche City Council, Paqui Gadea. Gadea’s incorporation was due to the fact that the statutory institution created a new position of freely appointed advisor that is added to the 26 already approved in the List of Jobs (RPT) of 2022 out of a total of 40 jobs. In other words, almost 70% of the positions covered are temporary staff selected by hand, which differs from the line set by the European Justice that forced Spain to reduce temporary work. In addition, the majority of Spanish administrations have already begun processes of stabilization of personnel. Sources from the Sindicatura have affirmed that the new position has been agreed with the unions and responds to the 30% increase in complaints from citizens.
The new position of advisor that is being added to the workforce was published in the Official Gazette on 16 August and the person chosen was already able to take up his duties on 2 September. Gadea joins the team of 17 advisors who help investigate complaints that reach the Ombudsman. The remuneration of these 17 positions is at least 70,000 euros gross per year, which corresponds to 66,700 euros gross per year of basic salary and destination and specific supplements and the professional career supplement that varies between 3,600 and 14,500 euros per year.
In this sense, the Court of Auditors stated that these advisors have increased their workload because they carry out the tasks that were previously carried out by the agents and which consist of participating in the entire complaint process. From its reception at the Court of Auditors to its publication on the web.
These advisory positions within the Ombudsman were historically chosen by an agreement between the PP and the PSPV-PSOE. In fact, many of the current occupants of these positions are senior officials of the governments of both parties or are linked to them. To occupy these positions, a university degree is required and, according to sources from the Ombudsman, since Ángel Luna was elected head of the institution, an attempt has been made to make each one a career civil servant. This is the case of the most recent, who had worked at the Elche City Council for 30 years.
An agreement of the majority of Valencian courts
But it is also true that, when there is a new agreement for the new Ombudsman, the RPT will allow the possibility of appointing up to 27 people and it will not be necessary for them to be civil servants. Just an agreement of the majority of the Valencian courts. In the functions designated for these advisers, according to the RPT, only brief “functions expressly qualified as trust or special advice” are reflected.
The other temporary positions selected manually are the people who work in the Ombudsman’s secretariat – with lower salaries because they belong to category C1 -, the communications team, the driver and a technician from Citizen Services. The positions put out to public competition are those of management, translation or citizen service agent. The two IT specialists occupy positions classified as workers.
The current Ombudsman, Ángel Luna, has given the institution a major facelift. Both during the years of the Botànic Pact and today, the number of complaints handled has increased (up to 3,500 in 2023), the majority concerning social services. The institution is renewed every six years, with the current incumbent having two years left.
