Gran Canaria Fireman suspended for speaking to press

THE President of a firefighters’ union has been suspended without pay for two days for talking to the press. 

Pablo Gonzalez is a working fireman and heads the Asociación de Trabajadores de la Brigadas de Refuerzo en Incendios Forestales (Association of Workers of the Reinforcement Brigade in Forest Fires or ATBRIF). 

He was asked by Noticias Leon about the fire situation in Gran Canaria as a massive blaze raged out of control earlier this year. 

But now the public company Tragsa, which employs him, says he should have asked their permission before answering, saying he is guilty of “serious misconduct.” 

In a statement Tragsa says that its collective agreement states that “given the particularities of the service it is necessary to maintain professional secrecy with respect to all information relating to the Forest Fire Extinguishing Service.” 
But ATBRIF   says that Gonzalez’s statements “neither expressed nor showed any secret or confidentiality that could not be seen in other media, as well the Ministry of Interior’s own website.” 

Tragsa says that the suspension is minimal for serious misconduct as it had taken into account an absence of malice, but firefighters organised a demo in protest. 

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Dilip Kuner

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