The Civil Protection Staff Association is finalising the process that will lead to its dissolution and reconstitution as a trade union, appealing to Civil Protection Department personnel to unite behind its efforts.

The CPSA had been advocating for the right of CPD personnel to unionise since 2003, when it presented a memorandum on the matter to the authorities.

The association welcomed the law allowing members of disciplined forces - including the CPD - to join trade unions, and in its annual general conference last year, following the publication of the draft law, its members overwhelmingly voted in favour of becoming a trade union.

The move was backed by 91.7% of CPSA members, representing 67.2% of all CPD personnel.

The CPSA said that it was finalising a new statute, and that in a few weeks, it will be calling an extraordinary general conference which should lead to the association applying to become a trade union.

The association emphasised that its efforts had been crucial to ensure that CPD personnel receive a services pension, and also to address the need to recruit additional staff. It said that once it became a trade union, it would concentrate on finalising a new collective agreement.

It appealed to all CPD personnel to unite behind its efforts to ensure that it would remain their main representative, as it has been for the past 15 years. It pledged to continue working in its members' best interests as it always had.