In a letter sent to the management of AIMA, the union insisted on “the urgent scheduling of a meeting”, accusing the management of “lack of dialogue, which constitutes an obstacle to the right to union association”.
The president of the recently created Union of Migration Technicians (STM) defended on Friday a special career for the sector and accused the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum () of ignoring the union structure, unlike the Government.
“A meeting with the government is scheduled for Monday and the management of AIMA has not even responded to us yet,” Manuela Niza told Lusa, highlighting that the STM will require a special career for professionals who deal with migration issues in the State .
According to Manuela Niza, there is a specific role that is not just limited to AIMA employees, but that includes “cultural associations and mediators, as well as other bodies that also deal with migration issues, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.
For the union leader, “there are a number of migration technicians who should be considered for a special career”, taking into account that migration is a “pressing topic that requires specialization”.
AIMA, created a year ago, has not yet received meeting requests from the union, the last one being made in October, something that Manuela Niza said she did not understand.
“We don’t understand this. No matter how hard we try, we are not heard. At least the government has responded to us and we will be welcomed,” he said.
In a letter sent to the management of AIMA, the union insisted on “the urgent scheduling of a meeting”, accusing the management of “lack of dialogue, which constitutes an obstacle to the right to union association”.
In the request book, the STM asks for the correction of flaws in the granting of allowances, the replacement of subsidies, criticizes the “way in which resources are being mobilized” for the mission structure that is resolving pending immigrant cases and asks for reinforcement of means.
“Today there is perfect chaos at AIMA, because people feel extraordinarily drowned in work and are not rewarded or recognized”, in a context where human resources are insufficient, said Manuela Niza.
“In the old SEF [Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras] we were 700 non-police employees and at the moment the latest calculations do not even show 500, even in a context in which AIMA also inherited the staff of the former High Commission for Migrations (ACM)”, he explained.
The influx of requests, delays in processes and the departure of many staff created a “completely toxic climate, because a service that was once excellent was degraded”, added Manuela Niza. Agência Lusa attempted to obtain a comment on the lack of response to a meeting with the union by AIMA and is awaiting a response.
