Balearic Parliament, Palma.

Balearic Parliament, Palma. | Jaume Morey

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterBalearic Islands07/08/2020 11:17
TW
2

Union Reps have been told that 34,000 Balearic Government officials won’t be getting a pay rise this year.

The wage freeze will save the Central Government 36.27 million euros and the partial increase of 2% in the state part of their salaries will be reduced later in the Regional Supplements paid by the Government, such as career or specific, productivity or destination complements.

General Board

The announcement was made at the General Board of Public Employees on Thursday which was attended by Finance Minister, Rosario Sánchez, and Public Administration Minister, Isabel Castro.

The Government wants to approve the agreement in the Governing Council on Friday, but it will have to be passed to Parliament because it contains modifications to salary supplements. This rule must be submitted before December 31 of this year.

The Government has justified the wage freeze saying more Public Health and Education employees are desperately needed to meet the needs of Covid-19.

900 Health Professionals have already been hired, 458 extra teachers will join the Balearic Education System in September and another 40 trackers are being employed. Staffing in the Balearic Islands has increased by 3% in the last five years.

The last budget amounted to 1.26 billion euros and was approved by José Ramón Bauzá.

Current Expenditure

Expenditure for 2020 will amount to 1,687 million euros, which includes the increase in staff and for the recovery of part of the supplements cut by the PP.

The number of public employees has increased from 30,000 to 34,000 and the average salary of each official increased by 12%, which is about 300 euros per month.

The Government has informed workers that the wage freeze is not final and promised that when Balearic GDP reaches pre-pandemic levels, the corresponding increase will be applied and backdated.

A Civil Servant salary increase linked to GDP growth was one of the last decisions made by the former Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro and it's been in force ever since.

But the current Finance Minister, María Jesús Montero, is now working on the 2021 Budgets and may modify that agreement.