No Free Speech in Spain’s Costa del Sol as a Nurse is Suspended Without Salary for Reporting Lack of PEE

A NURSE in Costa del Sol’s Malaga was suspended from work without a salary for complaining about the lack of PPE he received during the Covid-19 crisis.

Jose Javier Garcia, a 52-year-old nurse, has been working in the healthcare industry for 20 years now, attending to all types of emergencies on the streets of Malaga.

Garcia is part of a non-medical ambulance (meaning there is no doctor onboard) and works with an advanced coordination team.

During the Covid-19 crisis, his experience as a nurse was very different from what he imagined it would be. On March 20, Garcia went to the company’s headquarters to protest about the lack of personal protective equipment and, instead of helping him, the company decided to suspend both his employment and his salary.

He expressed how frustrated he felt having to stay at home and not being able to exercise his duties as a nurse. He says he experienced “frustration, impotence and fear of dismissal” all at different intervals.

The case of this Andalucian nurse has sparked a great deal of outrage amongst the community of healthcare professionals in Spain who do not understand how a colleague can be punished for complaining about a lack of protection.