Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 14th December 2022

by Mike Evans

A very good day to you all with the news that the rains seem to have ceased for the moment and as we get closer to Christmas it seems that Santa has been giving the public workers at Albufeira Council an early present of an extra day off when it is their birthday! More on this story below.

Continuing the season of giving gifts, the Government has also decided to allow all public workers the days of the 23rd and the 30th December as holidays.The Government has decided to grant time off on the 23rd and 30th of December to workers who carry out public functions in the State, according to an order already signed by the Prime Minister, António Costa.

“One-off tolerance is granted to workers who perform public functions in the services of the direct administration of the State, whether central or decentralised, and in public institutes on the next 23 and 30 December 2022”, refers to the dispatch.

In this dispatch, the prime minister justifies the point tolerance by the fact that it is “traditional for many people to travel outside their places of residence during the Christmas and New Year period with a view to holding family reunions”.

António Costa then refers to “the practice that has been followed over the years” and “the existing tradition in the sense of granting time off, at this time, in non-essential public services”.

In relation to these two days of time off, in the diploma it is noted that “except services and bodies that, for reasons of public interest, must remain in operation during that period, in terms to be defined by the competent member of the Government ”.

“Without prejudice to the continuity and quality of the service to be provided, the top managers of the services and bodies referred to in the previous number must promote the equivalent waiver of the duty of attendance of the respective workers, on a day to be set in due course”, it adds.

Here are some more stories that you may have missed in the past two weeks.

Albufeira Council gives Workers the Day off for their Birthdays

The 7th of December was marked by the Collective Signature of a Public Employer Entity between the municipality of Albufeira and four civil service workers’ unions, which provides for the dismissal from work on the birthday.

The action took place in the Main Hall of the Town Hall and was attended by the mayor , José Carlos Rolo, and councillors Ricardo Clemente and Cláudia Guedelha, representing the public employer, and representatives of three unions: STAL, STFPSSRA and SINTAP.

The respective agreements, which will come into force on the first working day following their publication in the Diário da República, aim to regulate the functions performed by workers and the employer. This time, the agreements highlight overtime work, the annual limit on the duration of overtime work, the vacation period , dismissals and justified absences, the municipal holiday and time off during Carnival, and the inclusion of workers’ birthday dismissal.

José Carlos Rolo stated that “the municipality’s concern for workers is constant, so the attribution of the birthday waiver benefit present in this agreement was a unanimous decision”.

Cláudia Guedelha, councillor of the City Council and responsible for Human Resources, referred that “the unions, as well as human resources, are an internal concern”, further emphasise that “it is a priority for the municipality to attend to all employers and make sure that there is well-being in the workplace”.

The unions present took the opportunity to thank and recognize the municipality for its effort and commitment during the process of agreements. Carlos Cabral, from SINTAP, congratulated the municipality for the “effort to value workers’ rights”, while Teresa Garcês, from STFPSSRA, said she hoped for “continuity of dialogue’ ‘ between all parties. Bruno Luz, from STAL, thanked for the “cooperation”, explaining that getting the day off on a birthday without loss of pay “was one of the biggest demands and for a long time”, for which “we can well say that it was a victory of the workers”.

Over 230 Occurrences due to the heavy rains in the Algarve

The bad weather that has hit the south of the country since Sunday, December 4th, has caused over 230 incidents to be registered by the Algarve Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command.

The eastern Algarve was the most affected area, namely the municipality of Faro with 92 occurrences, followed by Tavira with 17, Loulé 14, Albufeira 13, Vila Real de Santo António 11, São Brás de Alportel and Olhão 10, Alcoutim 8, Castro Marim 4, Lagoa, Monchique and Silves 2 and Lagos and Portimão 1.

All of these occurrences recorded due to precipitation and wind had the intervention of a total of 410 operators, supported by 168 fire engines, Municipal Civil Protection Services, City Councils, Parish Councils and municipal companies.

Wednesday night was marked by heavy rain that fell in the eastern Algarve, with records of flooding in Monte Gordo, Hortas, Vila Real de Santo António and Castro Marim, which suffered with showers of 45 litres per m2 in just one hour.

In the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, the municipality, the Municipal Civil Protection Service, the firefighters of Vila Real de Santo António, security forces, members of the Parish Councils and the company Ecoambiente were present throughout the night and into the early morning. the heavy rainfall situation and responded to various emergency situations and occurrences.

To minimise damages and losses, the municipality has permanently placed teams abroad to monitor all occurrences.

All districts on the mainland are under yellow warning due to the forecast of sometimes heavy rain, which may be accompanied by thunder and strong gusts of wind. A  vehicle that was dragged by the current last weekend on the river beach of Ribeira de Cadavais, in Alcoutim , was removed from the Guadiana river on Wednesday, November 7, announced the National Maritime Authority.

The car was removed by a team of divers from the Vila Real de Santo António Firefighters, a team from the Volunteer Firefighters, Civil Protection and Alcoutim City Council.

According to the National Maritime Authority, the vehicle was in a part of the river that constituted a danger to navigation, having been removed to land after buoyancy and towing work by elements of the Vila Real de Santo António Lifeguard Station. Due to the steep slope of the site, it was necessary to use a backhoe machine from the Civil Protection and Alcoutim City Council.

There were also elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António.

The owner of the vehicle was notified to present a plan to remove the vehicle from the site and the operation was coordinated by the Port Captain and Local Commander of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António.

Maritime Police seize 280 kilos of drugs on the Vicentine coast

Elements of the Lagos Maritime Police Local Command seized on Monday, December 5th, eight bundles of narcotics with a total of around 280 kilos of hashish, announced the National Maritime Authority.

The apprehension took place during a patrolling action south of the Vicentine coast, when several suspicious packages were detected on the sand of a beach.

The security forces immediately went to the location and confirmed that they were bales, which were promptly seized.The seized drug was later handed over to the Judiciary Police and the Lagos Maritime Police Local Command took care of the incident.

Two arrested for vehicle theft in São Bartolomeu de Messines

A man and a woman were arrested this Wednesday, November 30, for theft of a vehicle in São Bartolomeu de Messines , in the municipality of Silves , announced the National Republican Guard.

After a report of theft inside a vehicle, the military went to the scene, noting that the 40-year-old man and the 37-year-old woman were trying to steal a car.

It was also possible to establish that the suspects had already stolen a vehicle in the Salir area, in the municipality of Loulé, which was abandoned in São Bartolomeu de Messines.

GNR seizes 809 bottles of nitrous oxide on the A22

The National Republican Guard (GNR) seized on Friday, December 2nd, on motorway 22 ( A22 ), near Tavira , 809 bottles of nitrous oxide inside a heavy vehicle from Spain, and identified two men.

In a statement, the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR specified that the seizure of the product, with an estimated value of 55 thousand euros, resulted from a surveillance operation at the land border next to the International Bridge in Castro Marim, together with the Guardia Civil de Spain.

The investigation was initiated based on information from the Police and Customs Cooperation Center of Castro Marim (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain) and the exchange of information with the Spanish police authorities, advanced the guard.

GNR arrests two suspects for drug trafficking in Alcantarilha

The National Republican Guard (GNR) arrested on Wednesday, December 7th, in Alcantarilha , in the municipality of Silves , two men suspected of drug trafficking and seized 495 individual doses of drugs.

In a statement, the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR indicated that the two men, aged 30 and 36, were the occupants of a vehicle approached by the military because they suspected their involvement in a drug trafficking situation.

Following the operation, the military seized 430 doses of heroin, 65 of ‘crack’, the vehicle, telecommunications equipment and 200 euros, said the security force.The detainees will be present at the Silves court to be heard in the first judicial interrogation and application of any coercive measures.

And finally the biggest nativity scene in the country is back and was inaugurated on Wednesday, November 30, at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, in Vila Real de Santo António , announced the municipality.

This year, the initiative once again breaks records with the use of 5700 pieces, some of them made from scratch by the authors, placed over 240 square metres. For something a little bit different to the usual nativity scenes, Lagoa has the statues returning on the 16th and 17th December.In this year’s edition, 16 masters of the art of immobility, divided into 14 artistic paintings, will embody characters based on different themes, such as the living nativity scene, mythology, the great personalities of history and religion, in a journey that will extend through Rua Coronel Figueiredo, Rua 25 de Abril and Largo 5 de Outubro.

In this edition, two events will be highlighted: the celebration of the centenary of the birth of José Saramago (1922-2022) and the 25th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which will be marked with two living statues.

As usually happens, the living statues will be subject to two votes: one by visitors and another by a jury, where visitors will be able to vote for their favourite statue.

At the end of the event there will be a prize for the best statue, chosen by the public, and another prize for the best statue, chosen by the jury.

This event, a pioneer in the south of Portugal, already has eight editions in the city of Lagoa, aims to “disseminate and dignify artistic creation in this unique performing art, and simultaneously animate the centre of Lagoa and boost local commerce in the middle of the Christmas season”, he says. the municipality in a statement.

On Friday, December 16th, you can visit the Living Statues between 3 pm and 6 pm. On Saturday, December 17th, you can visit the Living Statues between 10am and 1pm.

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