The administrative court number 8 of Barcelona has again ordered the suspension of the competition for the position of Major of the Mossos d’Esquadra, for which the Chief Commissioner, Eduard Sallent, is applying. The same judge who already ruled in this sense with another union request, has resolved in the same way a second request, in this case from the union of commanders Associació professional de comandaments de la policia de Catalunya (COPCAT). “If a favorable sentence is issued, the process cannot be retroactive to make effective the right of the sentence,” argues the judge, who considers that “the damages would be enormous, both for the administration and for third parties, since the Major would have been appointed in a null manner and would have been paid a salary that would not correspond to him.”
The Department of the Interior accelerated the call for promotion of the current chief commissioner after the Catalan elections were called, and with it came a cascade of union complaints: from the other candidate for the post, Commissioner Alicia Moriana, from the two main unions (Sap-Fepol and Uspac) and from the COPCAT union. In June, it already ordered the suspension of the call, with the same arguments, but the Department of the Interior continued with the mandatory promotion competition, prior to the appointment. The legal representatives of the area that is acting in charge of Joan Ignasi Elena (ERC) requested clarification from the judge on the scope of the precautionary measure, which has not yet been resolved. The magistrate insists that the COPCAT union is legitimised in its claim, and that by presenting arguments equal to those of Sap-Fepol to request the precautionary measure, once analysed, it must resolve in the same way.
On Friday, the Chief Commissioner, Eduard Sallent, himself assured in a press conference that he had already completed the obligatory adaptation course, which lasted approximately two months and consisted of three modules, on strategy, innovation and communication, plus training stays abroad. Specifically, 25 hours of training with consultant Xavier Marcet, 25 hours of innovation with advisor Xavier Ferràs, 35 hours of communication, 20 hours of conversation in English, 15 hours for communication skills, and three trips, to Germany, the United Kingdom and Brussels, were planned. During this course, the Chief Commissioner visited the Frontex headquarters, which caused unrest among the National Police and the Civil Guard, due to the lack of competence of the Catalan police in matters of immigration. Police sources say that the evaluation committee for the course was scheduled to meet on Friday afternoon, but it was suspended.
Among her arguments, the judge repeats again that not stopping the call for senior officers now, pending the trial, which in this specific case is scheduled for 2025, would be detrimental to other people who want to apply and also to the public coffers, in the case of promotion. In its judicial appeal to the decision, the general direction of the police, in the hands of Pere Ferrer, argued that there is no such economic damage, since the chief commissioner earns the same as the senior, although the former is a rank that remains active while belonging to the Mossos, while the chief commissioner, when he stops holding the direction of the body, is again a rank-and-file commissioner, which means a lower salary than the senior.
On this occasion, the magistrate also adds that the position of major “is currently filled and would not create any vacancy in the post.” The only active major in the Mossos is Josep Lluís Trapero, who is separated in a division that evaluates the services of the Catalan police, dependent on the director of the police. The rank of major has a complicated fit in the Mossos when it is not the figure of maximum authority because it is conceived for the head of the body. Sallent’s promotion therefore represents a shield (he cannot be under the orders of anyone of lower rank) of his position in the event that a new political leadership at the head of the Mossos decides to relieve him.
The call for applications for the freely appointed position to become a major in the Mossos d’Esquadra provides that from the date of completion of the course, the director of the police has 15 working days to propose the resolution of the competition to the person in charge of the General Secretariat of the Department of the Interior, which in this case is occupied by Tamara García. And within a period of no more than six months from the closing of the registration period, he must appoint the chosen person.
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