Mallorca nursery strike: pay decree heads for vote
A planned nursery strike is looming in Mallorca as the Balearic Islands government pushes a pay decree it says will address key demands from staff working with children aged up to three.
Education and Universities Minister Antoni Vera said in Palma on Monday, 31 August, that he strongly understood the workers’ demands. Visiting IES Ses Estacions, he said he fully respected their right to strike but hoped the decree would win approval on 9 September.
The measure, approved on 7 August, includes a salary equalisation payment so workers doing the same job do not receive different pay. Vera said the Balearic Islands government would pay that supplement directly to staff.
Government set to take over payroll role
The Education Ministry would also, for the first time, take on delegated payroll administration for early-years provision for children up to three. Under the plan, the government would both set the supplement and manage that payroll system.
Vera said the government also intends to take over all public municipal escoletas — early-years centres for children up to three — whether they are run directly by town halls or through indirect management.
Smaller nursery groups planned from 2027
If a separate minimum-standards decree is approved, class groups in early-years education would become smaller from the 2027/2028 school year.
The ministry is also drawing up rules for school dining provision for children up to three. Vera said the pay decree would lay the groundwork for further improvements while responding to an important part of the sector’s demands.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com