The municipal plenary of L"Hospitalet approved this Tuesday, April 28, on an urgent basis, the salary improvement agreed between the local government and the unions of the Guardia Urbana last December. The measure will be retroactive and will allow the payroll of the staff to be raised to match that of the rest of the local police in the metropolitan area.
The agreement went ahead in a session that lasted until 00:00, when it was adjourned in compliance with municipal regulations. The local government argued that the pay raise will not result in an increase in municipal spending, as it will be financed with resources already foreseen in the budget.
Changes in the police force
The same agreement incorporates a modification of the Guardia Urbana job positions that eliminates the figure of the superintendent. The municipal executive maintained that this figure had reached the courts.
The mayor, David Quirós, framed the decision within a broader process of strengthening the body.
"We have a long way to go, this is an important point so that the Guardia Urbana can do its job with the guarantees they need and deserve" - David Quirós, mayor of L'Hospitalet
Quirós added that the municipal government also works on improving infrastructure, resources, and technology. In the same vein, the deputy mayor for Security and Internal Government, Jesús Husillos, explained that the staff modification responds to the need to adapt the municipal structure to the new classification established by the basic scale of local police forces.
The opposition largely backed the measure. Jaume Graells, from ERC + EUiA, considered it a step forward to improve the internal climate of the Guardia Urbana and called for new advances to retain officers in the city and improve equipment. He also announced his favorable vote.
The PP spokesperson, Sònia Esplugas, supported the point and celebrated that action has been taken now.
"Better late than never, it seems that things are starting to move" - Sònia Esplugas, spokesperson for the PP
Esplugas also expressed her satisfaction with the disappearance of the positions of superintendent and major intendent. From L"Hospitalet En Comú Podem, councilwoman Laura Alzamora congratulated the city council for applying what the law dictates, although she warned of her concern about the vacancies that may remain open. She also expressed confidence that the credit modification will definitively close this matter.
Fira 2000, Can Serra and municipal services
The plenary also approved an agreement to guarantee the economic viability of Fira 2000 between 2026 and 2029. ERC + EUiA abstained on this point and demanded more weight for the city in the trade fair programming. The government defended the benefits of the agreement and underlined the impact of the Mobile World Congress on L"Hospitalet.
The expansion of uses for the Mercat de Can Serra to host commercial, educational, assistance, and sociocultural activities was also definitively approved. The PP abstained with the argument of favoring the stallholders who are still in the facility. The Comuns voted in favor and also called for a bibliomarket in the neighborhood.
Vox voted against. Its councilor Francisco González maintained that changing the uses of the markets sends the message that these spaces are dying.
In another of the debated matters, the plenary session gave the green light to the transitional action program that will guarantee the continuity of municipal communication services provided by La Farga GEM SA during 2026. The item had been rejected in the plenary session of last January.
The vote closed with 18 votes in favor of PSC, ERC and Comuns, and 7 abstentions from PP and Vox. This transitional program will remain in place until the entry into force of a new program contract scheduled for January 1, 2027.
Citizen interventions and May 1st
In the citizen participation session, Justo Herrera, spokesperson for Foment de la Informació Crítica, intervened to propose the distribution of institutional advertising among local media. During his speech, he warned that if the double funding of public media is not regulated, private media are disadvantaged, and he defended that critical journalism in the city currently falls on private media.
On the occasion of May 1st, representatives of UGT and CCOO of L'Hospitalet demanded labor improvements, measures against the recently announced employment regulation files, and more resources to combat workplace accidents. Nicolás Cortés, territorial delegate of UGT in the city, warned that last year there were 110 work-related deaths in Catalonia and 47 in the metropolitan area, figures he described as typical of the 19th century.
Toni Mora, delegate of CCOO in L"Hospitalet, focused on the socio-educational emergency in the city. During his speech, he gave the floor to the AFA of Escola Sanfeliu to denounce the closure of the center.
The session also began with a shared remembrance by all municipal groups for Kiko Segura, a social activist, former president of the Bellvitge Residents' Association, and president of the board of trustees of the La Vinya Foundation. The plenary session ended well past midnight, with several significant agreements for the municipal structure and with the improvement of the Guardia Urbana as one of the central issues of the day.