GNR soldiers demand that the general command sue ANAC

The President of the Association of Professional Security Guards (APG) said this Saturday that he will require GNR to take legal action against ANAC, which owes a debt to military personnel who have been working on airfields for more than two years.

“APG will initiate efforts jointly with the General Command [da GNR] claim legal action against ANAC [Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil]if payment is not made this month [da dívida] PNR to complete the remaining work in March,” said Cesar Nogueira in a conversation with Lusa.

We are talking about the debt that ANAC owes since December 2021 to GNR military personnel who serve at the airfields of Viseu, Bragança, Vila Real and Portimão as part of their air careers serving these municipalities. since 2015.

“This is what is expected of those in charge to protect the rights of those who work. It’s not just about requiring them to show up for work, but also needing to pay and protect the professionals who are not being paid,” he defended.

At a demonstration that brought together about 60 professionals in Viseu, representing 190 who provide this service nationally and 40 in Viseu, the President said that “there are cases where the debt exceeds 10 thousand euros.”

César Nogueira said that “since the protest was announced this Saturday, ANAC ordered the payment in December by August 2023” of the amount due in February, “but the amount for August is still missing.”

The official added that “there has been this problem from the very beginning” with payment for services provided and “this is the fourth or fifth time” there have been protests about payment, but “not a single delay has reached two years.”

“This service is now expected to cease with the end of the airline’s career and the fear is that these missing months will eventually be forgotten and go unpaid,” he added.

César Nogueira also stressed that the service in question “is not voluntary, it is the duty of the military, they even have special training to undergo it,” and if professionals refuse “they are punished.”

“If a professional refuses to do the job, a disciplinary process is introduced, but at the PNP level they cannot act at the disciplinary level and so a war crime process is introduced for insubordination,” he said.

This process “has remuneration consequences if they are suspended, and also consists of the service member’s work experience for the purpose of career advancement, that is, they are not paid a salary and are still forced to go to work,” he clarified.

The ANG President recalled that “if everything were the other way around,” that is, PPR soldiers did not pay their bills, “their wages would be confiscated, and they would still pay interest on their debts.”

“This is what GNR should be demanding from ANAC, but it is not doing so. It has always been this way: it means being strong with the weakest and the weakest with the strongest, and those who are harmed are the same as always, those who work,” he concluded.