The Migration Technicians Union (STM) expressed concern on Monday about the lack of human resources at the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) and warned of the “lack of a consistent immigration policy”.
“It should be noted that, unquestionably, all matters related to AIMA employees have a direct impact on the service, reception and integration of foreign citizens who seek us out,” said the STM, in a statement.
The union highlighted that “most of the recruited staff do not consolidate their role” and end up requesting a transfer to other bodies, considering that the competitions “end up being irrelevant”.
“On December 9, 2024, a list with 594 employees was distributed. When SEF [Foreigners and Borders Service] was closed, there were 700 document employees. Now, AIMA is the result of the merger of two institutions with different responsibilities, so the reduction in staff is obvious”, he recalls.
The STM's reaction comes after, last Wednesday, the president of AIMA explained in parliament that the organization's current staff was 674 employees, 2% more than in October 2023, when the institution was created, after the extinction of SEF and the High Commissioner for Migration.
In the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, Pedro Portugal Gaspar explained that the increase means that the institution “withstood the pressure of mobility” and reforms, recalling that the news reported the departure of many staff from the organization.
Regarding the 2% mentioned by AIMA, the STM highlighted that “every day” it is faced “with requests for mobility to other institutions”.
“Relying on fixed-term contracts means not understanding the phenomenon or having a vision for the future”, he stressed, referring that the “migration phenomenon is here to stay and the different geopolitical movements combined with climate and economic changes only serve to strengthen the phenomenon”.
Denouncing “a structure without purpose, direction or future”, the union also lamented the abandonment of employees in the autonomous regions, “whose island allowance was withdrawn, relegating them to a level of indigence in the Public Service”.
Regarding the organic law, the STM considered that the legislation is “very heavy, fragmented and fragmented, without an objective and guiding line, creating a highly stratified structure with a low level of operability”.
“This results in complete disorder in terms of procedures, organization and planning,” he stressed.
The union stated that AIMA, “gradually, is becoming just a service organization without any concerns about migration policies or strategies, much less integration.”
“The STM is very concerned about the end of the pending recovery mission, since all AIMA staff were allocated to this task, contrary to what was planned, we fear that in June we will once again have a very high number of pending issues in other areas,” he added.