Rapid reaction in Palma

While most of Majorca's politicians are doing very little, if anything, to confront the challenges the recession is throwing up, Palma City Council appears to have a different attitude to looking after the general public's best interests.

Within a day of public sector workers in the capital announcing that refuse collectors were going to embark on an eleven day strike at the end of the month, the mayor, Mateu Isern, stepped in and appears to have reached a deal which will avert seriously damaging industrial action. Both the retail and tourist sectors began to panic on Tuesday as news of the strike broke with fears of tourists staying away from Palma, including the Playa de Palma, and possibly cancelling holidays which have already been booked.

But never mind the tourists, What about the residents.
As a Palma resident, I was not looking forward to the prospect of mountains of 11 day old waste building up on the corner of my street.
There are times when it does not matter what language we are talking, be it Catalan or Castellano, it is important that people are talking, especially in the middle of a recession when unions are calling for industrial action in protest against the cuts.

Isern has admitted to public sector workers that the cuts are “unfair but necessary” and at least he has shown he is not afraid of taking on his opponents when the well being of the city is at threat.