They eliminate a civil guard in a wheelchair for “uselessness” for the service: “They discriminate against him because of his disability”

The family of Jacobo Barchín, the wheelchair-bound officer who has been fighting for years to return to work as a civil guard, received the worst news on Tuesday, which he tried to avoid by all means. They saw the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of promises, but finally the “hit” arrived. La Benemérita informed that it was retiring the 34-year-old for literally – according to the official document in possession of ABC – “permanent uselessness” of the service. Jacobo was the victim of a serious bicycle accident on December 2, 2020, when. he went to film in the town of El Campello, in Alicante, where this La Mancha agent, born in the town of San Clemente, in Cuenca, was assigned. He fell into an open, unmarked manhole and suffered a spinal injury that left him in a wheelchair. However, since then he has undergone tough daily rehabilitation which allows him to feel qualified to “continue to realize his dream of being a Civil Guard” in a suitable position. To do this, he based his desire on similar cases recorded in others. official bodies. Thus, they supported all their allegations in the case of soldier Isabel Fernández, of the army, who exercises administrative functions at the infantry academy of Toledo, or in that of a national police officer stationed in Cordoba in identical circumstances. “Is my husband inferior to them? » , deplores his wife Raquel MORE INFORMATION news No A new hope for Jacobo, the wheelchair-bound agent who is fighting to reintegrate the Civil Guard. Now, three months after his complaint was made public in an ABC report, his wife criticizes the armed institute’s decision to retire him because he is not useful to the service, “continuing its efforts to discriminate against him based on his disability, without regard to the allegations presented.” “Jacobo just wants to feel useful and continue to do his job like anyone else, but it seems that this very progressive government committed to equality and inclusion in society has no room for him and that he does not have the same rights just for him. for pleasure, the fact of having a disability”, he criticizes in statements to this newspaper. In this latest resolution, the Civil Guard does not take into consideration the latest allegations based on the report of an expert who assessed Jacobo and his whereabouts He indicated that he was able to perform administrative tasks, as his injury was only to the waist and his cognitive abilities were intact. Additionally, they provided for state and internal legislation. of the Benemérita which “protected” the agent for being fit with bodily limitations, as also provided for in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities “Today the rights of persons with disabilities are once again violated. Today, this dream is interrupted by the thousands of prejudices still present in society and more particularly within the armed institute”, underlines Raquel. All this, after both knew that the Ministry of Defense and the former director general of the Civil Guard, Leonardo Marcos, were trying to promote regulatory changes to allow the continuity of service of their members suffering from sudden disabilities, such as This is the case with Jacobo. .Images of the rehabilitation of Civil Guard Jacobo ABCAccording to the agent’s partner, Marcos himself signed Jacobo’s retirement a few days before receiving a letter from the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (Cermi), to which he informed that they “promoted” legislative and regulatory modifications for the continuity of the service of the Civil Guards affected by changes in their psychophysical conditions. Faced with this situation, he asks the new director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, if she is going to keep her promise to “leave the body at the top”, because “of course, with what they are doing to Jacobo, they are better off, even if they are modest, without valuing one of their own. “Adapted with limitations” During his last medical evaluation, at the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid in January 2024, his degree of disability was increased even though he already had one recognized by the Social Protection Department of Castilla- La Mancha, for this purpose, according to Raquel, to justify his retirement. “The same court verbally told Jacobo that they were going to propose him for a position with limitations because he is fully capable of continuing to work in a position adapted to his new needs,” he recalled. The Civil Guard intervenes in parallel with the approval of the reform of article 49.1.e of the Workers’ Statute which will eliminate the recognition of the permanent disability of the worker as an automatic cause of termination of the employment relationship. With this new regulation, companies will no longer be able to decide unilaterally to end an employment relationship in the event of permanent disability of the worker and will have to make reasonable adjustments or a change of position allowing people who access the situation of permanent disability after onset. their working relationship, something that, according to Raquel, the Civil Guard neglected. “We’re supposed to be moving towards a more just, equal and inclusive society, and it’s clear that’s not the case and they continue to try to help people with disabilities. like spoils and as useless, it is shameful that in the 21st century, instead of moving forward in terms of rights and equality, we are going backwards more and more,” he is ashamed. “I am proud of the wonderful person I have by my side, who, despite all the obstacles imposed on him, does not let anyone impose limits on him and continues to fight for his dreams and his rights We have received sad news, but we. We’re not going to give up,” Raquel confirmed. Throughout this journey, both have benefited from the help of the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC), which echoed their demands to request the adaptation of the working environment to the characteristics of disabled civil guards, taking into account their capabilities and limitations. “It is essential to ensure that those who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting others, as is the case with our colleague Jacobo’s family, can continue to develop professionally in an environment that recognizes and values ​​their skills and experience,” they noted from the organization.

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