Employees of the company empowered to tow away illegally parked vehicles in Málaga have been taking to the street in protest at proposed measures to remove the Local Police from the equation.
Under the new proposal, the company would be reposnsible for deciding if a vehicle was illegally parked or causing a hazard to traffic or pedestrians and the operators would then tow the vehicle away.
Employees fear for their safety under such a situation and want a police officer to be present during such operations. Although they have been told to call the police in the case of an altercation, the employees say that it only takes a few seconds for someone to lash out which makes this directive inneffectual.
The Unions fear that because the towing firm is a private company, pressure will be put on employees, either by target incentives or otherwise, to increase the number of people being towed. And you only have to look at the UK to see the disastrous consequences of this type of action!
The protests are also being supported by Sip-an, the independent union of Local Police officers.
The proposed changes to the towing procedure are set to come into effect on September 28th.
Alternative: Obviously removing the Local Police from the equation means they can be better used elsewhere but given the inherent dangers involved, such as targeting and public animosity, why not instead increase the number of Local Police officers? After all, it would be creating jobs for a change.