La Línea payment struggle gets nasty: Councillor attacked

Aurora Camacho

LA LÍNEA (Agencies) Councillor Aurora Camacho, who is responsible for personnel and public works, and is preganant, was attacked by a female municipal employee on Tuesday morning. Police are investigating the incident, which occurred against the background of heightened tension in the municipal workforce over unpaid salaries. The workers have not been paid for seven months and tempers are increasingly frayed. The worker, a cleaner currently on sick leave, could face criminal charges and will also face a disciplinary process. Councillor Camacho fainted after the attack and received medical attention on the spot. Protests continue and are getting increasingly aggressive, although one group of workers held a peaceful demo close to the governing party's (PSOE) headquarters and to Mayor Gemma Araujo's home. In the meantime, all political parties have condemned the incident and other incidents have begun to occur in other municipalities with serious salary payment difficulties. For example, the Guardia Civil are investigating a fire that yesterday destroyed a vehicle belonging to a councillor in San Roque, in the belief that it is arson.