Unemployment office prepares for the end of season avalanche

Staff reporter THE unemployment exchange in the Balearics is bracing itself to handle the claims of some 60'000 workers whose contracts end in November and December. Rosa Arregui, the head of INEM (the National Employment Institute) in the Balearics and Antoni Mulet, a director of SOIB (The Balearic Job Service), launched an information campaign yesterday which, it is hoped, will help speed up the predicted “avalanche” of claimants. They said that the most efficient methods possible will be used to process benefit demand. Mulet explained that both organisations are “joining forces in order to give a better service” and have agreed on establishing an appointment system which will avoid crowds queuing at the offices. Some claimants will have worked in the Balearics this summer but return home to other regions of Spain when the season is over. Before being able to receive benefit, there is a two-week margin from the end of their work to the start of the period of entitlement. Mulet called on these people to take advantage of this leeway and lodge their claims as soon as they are back in their home towns. Workers will be able to register as unemployed and ask for benefits once they have finished their holiday entitlement. This year, it has been compulsory for employers to include holidays in the seasonal contracts. Only once the stipulated date has passed, can workers register as no longer being under contract.