Spanish Workers in Gibraltar: Growing Uncertainty and Concern Amid Brexit Negotiations

“Uncertainty”, “tiredness” and “concern”… These are the feelings that surround the Spanish workers in Gibraltar after three years waiting for Brussels and the United Kingdom to reach an agreement that normalizes the situation after Brexit. With the resumption of talks after the formation of the Government in Spain and the appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, everything indicates that the agreement is taking flight although skepticism is gaining ground in the region after successive rounds of negotiations without agreement in recent months. The wait is long and the fatigue is increasing among the associations and politicians of the region.

“Here we have a Brexit that affects communication, mainly the border, and also all matters related to documentation,” explains Juan José Uceda, spokesperson for the Spanish association of Spanish workers in Gibraltar (Ascteg) in a telephone conversation. . He gives as an example the management of unemployment benefits or health exclusion in Spain since July 1, 2022, which forces them to go to the private sector. This group, which represents several of the Spanish workers in the Rock, assures that curiously the number of full-time Spanish workers has increased in recent years despite their difficulties. In fact, the Ascteg spokesperson denounces the return of the lines to the Gate. “Lately, we have been experiencing unusual queues for several weeks leaving our jobs in Gibraltar when crossing the border towards our homes in La Línea or the Campo de Gibraltar region.”

There are around 10,600 Spaniards who transit this border daily and who ask that the agreement be closed so that the vaunted area of ​​shared prosperity becomes a reality. Not in vain, the economic gap between the Rock of Gibraltar and neighboring municipalities skyrockets. Unemployment rose in Campo de Gibraltar for the fourth consecutive month in November to 31,782 people, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Economy and Labor. Cádiz continues to be one of the provinces with the highest levels of unemployment in Andalusia and Spain. This circumstance is historically linked to the weaknesses and fluctuations of its industrial fabric, in addition to the lack of a network of large companies or little investment in its infrastructure. This is precisely what the mayor of Algeciras and senator for the province of Cádiz from the PP, José Ignacio Landaluce, denounces. «The lack of agreement affects us in two ways: the zone of shared prosperity is not being applied on this side, and also, most importantly, the special plan for the Campo de Gibraltar that was approved in the first Council is not being applied. of Ministers of Pedro Sánchez five years ago,” denounces the councilor.

Endowed with almost 1,000 million euros, it committed a specific employment plan for the region as well as improving infrastructure and communications in the area. “No decisions have been made,” denounces the mayor who demands investments to make the port of Algeciras more competitive and more personnel – veterinarians and officials – at the border inspection point. “We need to have improvements to be more competitive with respect to surrounding areas,” he says in a telephone conversation, in which he complains that all investments are made in Catalonia, leaving Andalusia isolated.

The mayor, critical of the delay in signing the agreement, demands that the workers of the region be thought of in addition to fiscal dumping or smuggling. “Entry into Europe is our responsibility. Our intermediation begins at the port and airport of Gibraltar,” he concludes in relation to its control, the main obstacle.

2024-01-02 01:18:21
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