Border officers ‘left exposed’ amid treaty transition, GSD says

Borders and Coastguard and Customs officers have been left working in difficult conditions at the frontier in intense summer heat, with uncertainty still surrounding their responsibilities ahead of treaty implementation, the GSD said on Monday.

In a statement, the party said officers had been “left exposed, literally” because of limited shade and ongoing uncertainty over how their roles would change once the treaty comes into effect.

The GSD was reacting to changes at the border, where old infrastructure including canopies that provided shade have been demolished ahead of the July 15 target date for provisional implementation of the treaty.

Joelle Ladislaus, the Sshadow Minister for Justice, said the situation at the frontier suggested the Gibraltar Government was still rushing to put arrangements in place despite repeated assurances that it had been ready in April.

“The Government keep saying that they were ready in April for the Treaty to come into effect,” she said.

“As usual, it seems they’ve overstated the position because the reality on the ground is looking very different.”

“The state of the frontier demonstrates that the Government are once again rushing to put things in place at the eleventh hour.”

Mrs Ladislaus said working conditions for Borders and Coastguard Agency and Customs officers had become difficult in recent weeks as temperatures rose, adding that the shade provided was limited and flimsy. She also said Spanish officers appeared to have better facilities nearby.

“The last few weeks have seen temperatures rising and everyone looking for shade and ways to cool off,” she said.

“Unfortunately, for BCA and Customs officers on duty at the frontier, it seems working conditions have been quite difficult given the very limited and flimsy options for shade that they have been provided with amidst the construction site they are working in, especially in relation to their Spanish counterparts, who appear to have a better setup just metres away from our officers.”

The GSD MP added that there was also uncertainty among officers in both agencies because their future roles and responsibilities under the treaty were still not clear.

“The current working conditions are compounded by a prevailing sense of uncertainty for officers of both agencies, for whom shifting and evolving roles and responsibilities under the treaty are not yet clear,” she said.

“The Government have had ample time to prepare law enforcement agencies for the significant changes which are coming under the treaty and it seems that, once again, they have done the minimal so that they can pay lip service, rather than anything meaningful to ease the transition.”

“It seems that for this Government, if the boxes are ticked, the collateral damage doesn’t matter.”

The GSD acknowledged that some disruption to normal working arrangements was to be expected as Gibraltar moves towards treaty implementation but said the impact should be reduced through proper planning.

The party said the Government should address conditions at the frontier as a matter of urgency, both to improve the short-term working environment for officers and to provide clarity on their longer-term duties.