The Senate Plenary has approved this Wednesday the reform of the Organic General Penitentiary Law 1/1979, a modification that legally recognizes the status of agents of authority for officials of Penitentiary Institutions, a demand that unions had been claiming for years and that has gone ahead thanks to an agreement between PSOE and PP.
In practice, this recognition implies greater legal protection for prison officials when performing their duties. In addition, the reform includes measures such as the presumption of veracity in certain actions and the right to receive compensation for personal or material damages they may suffer during service, provided there has been no malice, fault, or gross negligence.
The text, which had also been agreed with the PNV in Congress, has received majority support in the Upper House, so it is definitively approved and will be sent to the Official State Gazette (BOE) for its entry into force. The modification thus responds to one of the main demands of penitentiary unions, which for years have called for greater legal recognition of the functions performed by prison workers.
What changes for prison officials
The reform incorporates several of the demands conveyed by unions in the penitentiary field, including the possibility of receiving compensation for personal or material damages, the presumption of veracity, the obligation to have specific theoretical and practical training, and security guarantees comparable to those of labor personnel.
With this modification, the legislator responds to a claim that union organizations describe as historic, in a context in which prison staff have repeatedly denounced situations of risk and insecurity in penitentiary centers. In addition, the Administration must "financially compensate" officials when "they suffer personal or material damages in or on the occasion of service", provided there has been no malice, fault, or gross negligence on their part.
PSOE and PP celebrate the consensus reached
Both the PSOE and the Popular Party have expressed their satisfaction with the consensus reached based on the proposal registered by the socialists, understanding that it responds to a long-standing demand by penitentiary workers.
The definitive approval in the Senate thus culminates a parliamentary process that has had the support of different political parties and that, according to the parties involved, reinforces the principle of authority within prisons. The legal recognition of civil servants as agents of authority represents a change in the legal framework that regulates their professional activity and aims to reinforce the protection of workers during the performance of their duties.
CSIF speaks of discreet and intense negotiations
The Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants' Central (CSIF) has also positively valued the definitive approval, considering it to be “the direct result of discreet, intense and complex negotiations” which, it maintains, have been aimed at building bridges between PP and PSOE.
In its statement, CSIF has stressed that this recognition constitutes “a historical demand” and has assumed it as “a triumph”, taking into account, furthermore, “the context of growing violence and insecurity suffered by the staff of Penitentiary Institutions in prisons”.
