Mallorca heat: union demands protection for public staff

On Mallorca, in Spain’s Balearic Islands, a vote against cooling Palma’s public schools has prompted a union to demand heat protection for government staff. On Tuesday, 29 September 2026, UGT Public Services called on the Balearic government to negotiate a plan covering heat risks across its services. PP and Vox voted against the school proposal, with a Vox councillor defending the decision by invoking a “culture of effort”.

Tino Davia, UGT’s workplace health and environment secretary in the Balearic Islands, says effort cannot be an excuse for working or studying in heat that harms health. The risk is not confined to outdoor work, he says: staff also spend hours in classrooms, care homes, health centres and offices. According to UGT, figures from Spain’s state weather agency Aemet show 61 days of heatwave conditions across Spain and the Balearic Islands in June, July and August 2026.

The Balearic government’s education department already has a plan for exceptional temperatures. Updated in June 2026, it covers teachers and other school staff. UGT wants protection tailored to the risks of each job and coordinated across government services with workplace safety representatives involved.

The union has drafted a proposal for talks with the public company Sóller 2010. It calls for drinking water, recovery breaks, cool spaces and changes to working hours and tasks. UGT says staff should not lose pay because of those measures.

Topics: Court cases · Jobs & labour · Education · Politics · Palma · Sóller

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com