A SEPE official in Mérida has been disciplined for attending to people without an appointment.

The SEPE office in Mérida has opened disciplinary proceedings against Juan Carlos, a civil servant with 36 years of service. He has spent 15 of those years at the employment office, and his “crime”: assisting unemployed people who showed up without an appointment. He sees it as a public service, because many people can’t even get an appointment.

The SEPE’s appointment system has been in shambles for two years. Getting an appointment is an ordeal, I tell you: a pay-per-call automated phone line, an overloaded website. The wait times are days long, and sometimes it’s simply impossible. So many unemployed people in Badajoz end up seeking appointments in surrounding towns, with the cost and effort that entails.

Juan Carlos would see those who arrived without an appointment when the office was empty—if it was an emergency, of course, without inconveniencing those who did have an appointment. He says that many appointments were resolved in a minute and a half, and the rest of the time the office was empty. “I’m paid to help people, whether they have an appointment or not,” he says.

But then there was a change in leadership at the office and in the province of Badajoz, and he was forbidden from assisting people without an appointment, even for urgent matters like certificates from Caritas or the Red Cross. He didn’t get it: the appointment is a means, not an end, and it cannot be an obstacle to applying for unemployment benefits—in Extremadura, many people live solely on that.

There is already a mobilization underway in the city. A rally in support has been called for the 3rd at 10:30 a.m., in front of the office.

If you’re having trouble with your appointment or paperwork, message us on Telegram: https://t.me/cita_extranjeria