The unions will take to the streets this Thursday, May 1st, International Workers’ Day, to demand salary increases that allow for the high cost of living in the Balearic Islands to be compensated and to call for a reduction in the workday, among other things.
Palma will host at least two demonstrations, one by CCOO and UGT and another by the CNT, as well as a concentration by USO. The two majority trade union organizations have also called for mobilizations in Maó and Ibiza.
It is expected, as usual, that representatives of different political parties will join the calls. In Palma, for example, the general secretary of the PSIB-PSOE and president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, will be present.
TIMES AND ROUTES OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS
The first of the planned demonstrations is by CCOO and UGT, which will start at 11:30 a.m. from Ses Estacions Park in Palma and will go through the avenues until reaching Parc de la Mar.
In this demonstration, under the motto ‘Protecting what has been achieved, winning the future’, it is expected that, in addition to workers and union members, Armengol and a representation of the PSIB-PSOE will participate.
At the same time, in Plaza de España, members of the USO union are expected to gather under the motto ‘More jobs, higher salaries, better life’.
The second demonstration, organized by the CNT, will also start from Plaza de España but half an hour later, at 12:00 p.m. It will go through Avenida Alexandre Roselló, Sindicat, La Bosseria, Colom, Cort, Palau Reial, Victoria, Conqueridor, Plaza de la Reina, and Avenida Antoni Maura until reaching the gardens of s’Hort del Rei.
The Palma Local Police plans to close several streets in the city center between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to allow the demonstrations to proceed. The Municipal Transport Company (EMT), on the other hand, has planned diversions on multiple bus lines.
CCOO and UGT have also called for demonstrations in Maó and Ibiza. The first will be a demonstration starting at 12:00 p.m. from Plaza de la Explanada, and the second, a concentration, will take place at the same time in Parque de la Paz.
WHAT DO THE UNIONS DEMAND?
In a joint press conference held on Monday, the general secretaries of CCOO and UGT in the Balearic Islands, José Luis García and Pedro Homar, respectively, pointed out that the main demands for this May 1st are the lowering of housing costs, the reduction of the workday, and the increase in salaries.
Homar highlighted the «out-of-control trend» of the real estate market, which he believes leads to the children of workers having to resign themselves to not being able to become independent unless they share a flat, or that the «most obscene wealth» coexists in Ibiza with caravan settlements.
Faced with this situation, he called on political representatives to «not be ideological» and to be consensual between the different administrations with the aim of «rowing in the same direction.»
He also spoke about the high profits of the tourism sector and lamented that they do not have an impact on the quality of life of workers, who face «insurmountable difficulties in finding a place to live and salaries that are disproportionate to the cost of living.»
García delved into this idea and argued that if tourism is the «engine» of the economy of the Balearic Islands, it should also be the engine of «people’s well-being.» He also criticized the employers’ refusal to negotiate salary improvements despite the «structural lack of personnel and difficulties in accessing housing.»
«It is incomprehensible that, with the streets full of tourists and hotels at full capacity, the employers refuse even to sit down and talk. We cannot continue to support the success of a few at the expense of the precarity of the majority. That is why we take to the streets this May 1st,» he emphasized.
WILL IT RAIN OR BE HOT?
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) predicts that Thursday will be marked by the effects of a storm that will be located off the coast of Portugal and will favor the entry of an African air mass into the archipelago.
This warm mass will cause the appearance of suspended dust and a rise in temperatures, with highs in some points of the interior of the islands reaching up to 29 or 30 degrees Celsius.
The sky is expected to be mostly clear with the presence of suspended dust, especially in the afternoon.
STREETS IN PALMA’S CENTER CLOSED
According to information from the Palma City Council, the two demonstrations scheduled in the city will cause the closure of different streets.
Specifically, the Local Police will close the traffic — and set up the corresponding detours — on Avenida Alemania towards Plaza España (one can go through the General Riera tunnel), General Riera towards Plaza España (using Avenida Alemania or Antoni Marqués), and 31 de Diciembre with Avenidas (through Comte de Sallent).
Also on Eusebi Estada (via Comte de Sallent), Avenida Adolfo Suárez towards Avenidas, Avenida Gabriel Alomar towards Plaza España (through Calle Manacor), Avenida Alexandre Rosselló towards Plaza España (via Calle Aragón), and Antoni Maura and El Borne towards Plaza de la Reina.
On the other hand, the EMT has planned the temporary diversion of several bus lines between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., approximately.
These will affect lines L3, L4, L5, L7, L8, L10, L12, L16, L20, L23, L24, L25, L31, L33, L35, L46, and L47. Stops 1051, 981, 543, 110, 390, 598, 455, 810, 360, 1, 6, 1377, 799, 456, 457, 458, 1330, 1139, 453, 7, and 1048 will be canceled for the duration of the diversions.
FUENTE