Two of the 13 soldiers who refused to board the Mondego for security reasons in March 2023 and were suspended from duty were not paid in May, the president of the National NCO Association told Luse this Saturday.
“This contradicts everything that we have as standards and recommendations, because even in the case of punishment with deprivation of wages there is a reduction, but it cannot be reduced by a certain amount under pain of threatening the existence of the soldier and the company itself is a family,” explained Sergeant Lima Coelho.
In a conversation with Lusa, Navy spokesman Commander Souza Luis confirmed that these soldiers received a pay stub for zero euros for May and explained that this was due to the fact that in April these soldiers received their salaries in full when they should have already received a penalty.
Therefore, he explained, a two-month fine was written off from them in May, which is why they did not receive any amount.
Asked about the minimum subsistence amount below which wage fines are not permitted, a Navy spokesman sent further clarification the following week but said fined soldiers had been informed of the reason for the lack of pay that month.
The president of the National NCO Association accused the Navy of “moving toward a situation that borders on illegality and which is generally not accepted,” which he regards with “deep concern.”
On March 11, 2023, the Portuguese Republic ship (PRP) Mondego failed a mission to escort a Russian ship north of the island of Porto Santo, in the Madeira archipelago, after four sergeants and nine military personnel refused to board, citing security concerns. causes.
On April 11 this year, the Navy decided to suspend 13 service members for periods ranging from 10 to 90 days.
As Sergeant Lima Coelho explained to Lusa this Saturday, there are currently only two soldiers whose sentence has already entered into force, since they were punished directly by the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Enrique Gouveia e Melo, and an appeal must be submitted to the Courts.
The rest were punished by the naval commander and turned to the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
“Aside from the injustice of the Navy still not responding to appeals filed by our comrades’ lawyers or other mechanisms in court, the Navy has decided to move forward and it has taken us all by surprise because this is not a reading of what we do with the law.” , – emphasized Sergeant Lima Coelho.
On the other hand, as the president of the National Association of Sergeants argued, “such measures do not bring attractiveness, but, on the contrary, deter citizens from wanting to serve in the navy” and force those who are already in it to think about leaving early. .
The Navy accused the soldiers of “disobeying orders” and “distributing certain information to a military association.”
An inspection report compiled by a team created for the purpose by the Navy, a few days after the military’s refusal, concluded that the Mondego could sail safely, although the presence of “cracks in the structure” of the ship was noted. references were made to “leaking”, “difficulty with drainage in the engine room” and “inability to separate water and oils”.
In an interview with Lusa last December, the chief of naval staff argued that the refusal of 13 soldiers to carry out a mission aboard the Mondego in March was an exception and insisted that the incident had already been addressed. decided to be “completely surpassed” in the Navy.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.