Guardia Civil associations have denounced what they claim are breaches of labour rights for officers who are assigned to the Royal Household. The complaints centre on their having to do marathon shifts, time off being cut, and not having relief for night services.
In a joint statement on Friday, the three associations said that officers on duty with the Royal Household suffer "frequent harm to their labour rights" but do not dare denounce this because of fears of what this might mean for their careers.
There should be two days off a week, but there is normally only one. A particular complaint concerns what is described as the "random form" of summer service assignments in Majorca when the Royal Family is on vacation. Assigning officers to the security service for the Royal Household, the associations explain, is at the total discretion of the Guardia Civil command. If it loses confidence in an officer because of a complaint about working conditions, this can have serious consequences.
The lieutenant colonel of the Royal Household unit is said to have rejected a request for a meeting from the associations. The Royal Household itself explains that a letter was received from the associations early in January. This asked for a meeting to discuss "various difficulties".
The head of security responded by pointing out that under current law regarding the rights and duties of members of the Guardia Civil, there was no rule that "regulates" such a meeting. Nevertheless, and despite there being no record of any formal complaint, the Royal Household's head of security has asked the unions to specify the difficulties as an initial step in seeking to set up a meeting.