Coronavirus crisis impacting on tens of thousands of workers on Spain’s Balearic Islands

THE coronavirus crisis is dealing a massive blow to the Balearic Islands’ workforce.
The Balearic government estimates that more than 172,000 workers will be directly affected by businesses turning to an ERTE, a temporary employment regulation which enables companies to make suspensions within employment contracts or reduce working hours due to force majeure.
Economy, Tourism and Employment regional minister Iago Negueruela warned that other employees could also be affected by ERTEs emitted due to indirect causes or for production reasons, putting the final figure at more than 200,000.
Negueruela reported that by Thursday the Employment Directorate General had registered 8,080 ERTEs for reasons of force majeure, representing an estimated 71,100 workers. Of these, some 86 per cent correspond to Mallorca.
The regional minister also reported that the government has improved the telematics system for processing ERTEs online in accordance with measures on simplification agreed with financial and social agencies.
He also said the number of civil servants dealing with processing the ERTEs had already been vastly increased from one to 35, with plans to increase this further to 50 because it is an “absolute priority” that workers at home receive their benefits “on time”.
“The impact of what is happening at an economic and global level in the Balearics is very high,” Negueruela commented.
“Every day more companies are closing: we are on the road to a total halt in our autonomous community.”