The Independent Association of the Guardia Civil (IGC) has today called for pay rises so that officers can cope with the “prohibitive” cost of housing in the Balearics and so that their transfer to the islands does not represent a “punishment”.
“For most of the agents who are assigned to any of the islands, it means suffering a tremendous stroke of bad luck, since the scarcity and price of housing forces them to sleep in motorhomes, on campsites or even in their own vehicle,” the organisation said in a statement.
For example, in Ibiza there is a trainee airport agent who lives in a van and showers in a gym because he cannot find affordable housing.
“When new personnel arrive, they have to live wherever they can, until, with a lot of luck, they find a flat, in most cases with only one room for around 800€, which they have to share,” explains the IGC, which recalls that Ibiza Town Hall promised to provide housing for the Guardia Civil but failed to do so.
With regard to Mallorca, it also denounces “exorbitant prices” in summer for housing rentals, which produces situations similar to those in Ibiza.
Therefore the IGC is calling for “a significant increase in the insularity supplement, so that they can meet the economic disadvantage they suffer due to the housing problems and the cost of living”.