High cost of living forces officers to seek transfers

Joan Collins THE recent arrival of police reinforcements for the summer has been marred by the announcement that the National Police Force in the Balearics will lose 59 officers from Palma and another four from Manacor. They have all applied to transfer because of the high cost of living on the island. The transfers were announced yesterday by Jaime Mulet, secretary general of the police union. He added that the chief cause of the transfer requests was the high cost of living in the Balearics which made these officers apply for transfers to other places where the cost of living is cheaper and they are nearer to their families. The transfers have been approved by the Police Board and affect a total of 122 officers in the Balearics who will leave their posts soon (in addition to 63 officers in Majorca, 19 in Minorca and 40 in Ibiza will also be leaving). This will be offset by 11 officers who have been posted to the islands, but the deficit in the officers on the Balearics is now around 20 percent, Mulet said. The majority of the transfers, which will take place next week, are because of the cost of living on the islands which is not adequately made up for by the monthly allowance of 60 euros which each officer receives for living in the Balearics to compensate for living on an island. This is a figure which “is no incentive” to the officers to stay in the Balearics, said Mulet yesterday. In this respect, he said he regretted the instability which this situation caused among the Balearic Force, a movement of staff which influences their training and the service which they give and which also affects, “negatively”, Officers receive a 60 euro a month cost of living allowance, but this is not considered enough the work they do. This problem could become more serious if the next round of applications for transfer, planned for September, takes place, Mulet went on to say. This would mean more vacancies for police officers in the islands. The loss of five percent of the Force who are assigned to the Balearic Islandss but currently are in other places doing other jobs must also be taken into account, the union leader said.