Nerja Council to pay officer over internet use

NERJA Town Hall has been sentenced to pay a Local Police officer who was suspended without pay for using the internet for personal matters within work hours the salary he would have received.

According to the sentence, which could cost the town hall around €3,000 according to the police union, there is nothing to say that the police can only have limited use of a computer during their work hours, and therefore the nine-day suspension without pay was “unfair and inappropriate”.

The sentence cannot be appealed. The officer in question is the union’s organizational secretary and has reportedly already been paid the money plus interests. For several years now there have been problems within the police force, due to the existence of two opposed groups, those who support the police chief, and those who don’t, according to the union.

Now, the conservative Partido Popular in office in the town have approved rules which limit use of municipal computers for all 400 members of the town hall staff, civil servants, police and others.

The Councillor in charge of the Local Police, Inocencia Quintero, said this would “prevent such behaviour from occurring, and stop staff from using the internet for personal matters in working hours”.

She also said that although the town hall does not agree with the sentence, they have had to obey it.

Photo credit: perryplanet