The Balearic Islands are pioneers in the implementation of ultrasound scanners in primary care health centres

Throughout 2024, Primary Care has trained a total of 618 professionals: 424 doctors, 124 nurses, 50 physiotherapists and 20 paediatricians in the Balearic Islands in the programme for the implementation of clinical ultrasound in health centres. The Balearic Islands have also been the first autonomous community to train all resident doctors in basic clinical ultrasound in 2021.

The First Conference on Clinical Ultrasound in Primary Care (ECO-APIB) in the Balearic Islands took place today at the Hospital Comarcal de Inca. This conference aims to explore advances in ultrasound in primary care with a programme divided into different workshops with practical training in ultrasound aimed at health professionals (and residents) in medicine, paediatrics, nursing and physiotherapy in the Balearic Islands.

The conference, which is attended by over one hundred participants, features thirty workshops and eight national speakers who are experts in ultrasound. Some of the presentations focus on the usefulness of ultrasound in emergencies or in the evaluation of rheumatological diseases, among others. Clinical ultrasound has established itself as a tool of excellence and a complementary diagnostic tool. It represents an important reinforcement in the capacity to make decisions, providing added value to the quality of healthcare activity.

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Primary Care has trained more than six hundred professionals in clinical ultrasound in the Balearic Islands

Primary Care in Majorca, pioneer in the use of clinical ultrasound

Ultrasound scanners are becoming a very useful tool in health centres to achieve a better approach to diagnosis. In no case do they replace anamnesis or examination; they are an extension of the physical examination, which facilitates diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prioritised referral in practically all clinical scenarios.

The Primary Care Management of Mallorca has been a pioneer in the commitment to implement clinical ultrasound in health centres. In fact, it began in 2019 and since then has made significant progress in different aspects throughout the Balearic Islands: investment in the provision of ultrasound scanners for all health centres, investment in ongoing training in clinical ultrasound for primary care professionals (with courses, on-site workshops and eco coach), and the creation of the Balearic Islands Primary Care Clinical Ultrasound Classroom (ECO-APIB), with ultrasound stations and training spaces. The Clinical Ultrasound Technical Commission has also been created in the Technical Office of Primary Care in Mallorca.
The ECO-APIB Illes Balears classroom has seven ultrasound stations and a teaching team made up of 18 doctors, 3 paediatricians, 3 nurses and 1 physiotherapist. Training in clinical ultrasound has been expanding year after year: basic, advanced, hepatobiliary-pancreatic, thoracic and pulmonary, echocardoscopy, urology, emergency care, paediatrics, vascular, thyroid, renal, musculoskeletal, etc.

This volunteer project of the Mallorca Integra Foundation offers rides to elderly people living in the centre managed by IMAS.

Combating unwanted loneliness, promoting intergenerational relationships and reconnecting the elderly with their surroundings and the community are the objectives of the project ‘En bici sin edad’ (‘By bike without age’). A volunteer action implemented with great success in other Spanish and European cities which, for the first time, comes to the Balearic Islands, thanks to the Mallorca Integra Foundation, in collaboration with MBW Proa Premium and the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation.

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La Llar d’Ancians launches the project ‘En bici sin edad’ to combat loneliness and reconnect with the community

Users with reduced mobility or who do not have a family at the Llar d’Ancians residence, which IMAS manages in Palma, will be the first in the autonomous community to be able to enjoy this innovative yet simple experience, which offers outings on electric tricycles with capacity for up to two people, to go for rides around Palma, visit their old neighbourhood, see the Christmas lights or the sea, accompanied by a volunteer who drives the vehicle.

‘This is a project that contributes to promoting active, healthy and integrated ageing within the community, which is what IMAS is committed to’, stressed the Vice-President of the island’s institution, Magdalena García Gual, who thanked the work of Mallorca Integra, MBW Proa Premium, the “la Caixa” Foundation and the volunteers who make it possible. ‘Volunteering contributes to the common good, the work you do complements that of the professionals and allows the elderly to enjoy activities like this, which strengthen their self-esteem, sense of belonging and social integration’, she said.

The Vice-President of IMAS closed the presentation ceremony of ‘En bici sin edad’, which was also attended by the Councillor for Families and Social Affairs of the GOIB, Catalina Cirer, the Director of Social and Health Care of the Consell de Mallorca, Rosa Llobera, the Councillor for the Elderly and Interculturalism of Palma City Council, María Luisa Marqués, as well as representatives of the sponsoring organisations and the directors of the Mallorca Integra Foundation, Catalina Miralles and Aurora Sampol, who will coordinate and direct this project.

The Department of Tourism closes the summer campaign with 2,554 actions in total, 70% of which have been focused on combating illegal activity in the tourism sector

The Department of Tourism of the Consell de Mallorca has closed the summer campaign, which included an ambitious inspection plan, with a total of 2,554 actions throughout the island, to ensure the proper functioning of all tourist activity that takes place in Mallorca. The campaign was carried out from 15 June to 15 November to combat illegal supply and any other type of irregularity that may occur in the island’s regulated supply.

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The Consell de Mallorca triples the number of actions against illegal tourism in the summer campaign 2024

The results, as announced this Thursday at a press conference by the Councillor for Tourism, José Marcial Rodríguez Díaz, have been ‘very satisfactory’, with ‘70% of the actions focused directly on combating illegal supply in the sector’. Specifically, of the 2,554 total actions, in these 5 months, the inspectors have carried out 1,765 visits against this type of offer, ‘three times more than a year ago (593)’, and have resulted in the opening of a total of 245 infringement proceedings, 10.3% more than in the same months of 2023, when there were 222.

In this line, Rodriguez has detailed that these 2,554 actions have responded to both complaints and claims received by the department, as well as the activity of the summer campaign promoted by the inspection service to control illegal tourist activity in all types of establishments. In addition, the total number of visits (2,554) is also three times the number made in the same period in 2023, when there were 969.

Results of the plan
Rodríguez also advanced some results obtained during 2024 against illegal supply and revealed that up to October (latest available data) the number of total inspections against illegal supply has tripled compared to a year ago (3,102 vs. 1,028), with a 13% increase in the number of infringement reports issued.
In terms of sanctions, Rodríguez detailed that 179 proceedings were opened in 2024 and approximately 78 have already been resolved. The total amount proposed as a sanction in these proceedings opened in 2024 was 4.42 million euros.

On the other hand, over the last few months, the inspection service has also focused its efforts on locating and pursuing repeat offenders. In this way, with a prior list provided by the sanctioning department, of 91 reports with the result of a sanction, the inspectors have gone to 51 of the 91 properties, issuing 6 infringement reports, so recidivism has been found in 11.76% of the properties previously sanctioned.
Finally, the summer campaign was also aimed at checking the 3% of local produce in Mallorca’s establishments. Specifically, the establishments included in the summer campaign were finally 188, 20% more than those initially announced (152), which were asked to provide the relevant documentation to prove their compliance.
Of these 188 establishments, 86 have replied, with a 100% compliance rate. The rest of the establishments are awaiting their response, which will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
The Councillor for Tourism concluded his speech by assuring that ‘the plan implemented last year works, it is appropriate and allows us to fight against illegal supply, whatever type it is and whatever sector it operates in’.

The Ministry of Youth and Children has presented the institutional campaign Signs that could mean a lot, with the aim of raising awareness against violence against children and adolescents.

Institutional campaign to make violence against children visible: ‘Signs that could mean a lot’.

The campaign encourages people to pay attention to the signs that can give away these types of situations, which are often invisible or even normalised.

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Youth and Children presents an institutional campaign to make violence against children visible

Violence against children and adolescents is often minimised or relegated to the private sphere. They have a strong impact on the physical, emotional and social development of children and adolescents, and can limit the life projects of those who suffer them.

The Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, said: ‘The silence surrounding the violence suffered by a child or adolescent speaks of society as a whole, of our lack of care and respect for children’s rights. To break this invisibility and combat it requires a commitment at all levels, from institutions to those who work or spend time with children, including families.

Children and young people who experience violence often find it difficult to put words to what is happening to them, especially younger people. The campaign encourages paying attention to signs that may indicate that someone is suffering from violence, such as sudden changes in behaviour, uncontrolled fears, somatisation, mutism, avoidance of people or places they used to like, fear of undressing, self-harm or violent play.
‘Just as society has realised that male violence against women is unacceptable and that it must be expelled from all public and private spheres, we must act forcefully to eradicate violence against children and adolescents’, added the minister.
Rego presented the campaign together with the Director General for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, Sandra de Garmendia, who stressed that regardless of whether it is physical or psychological violence and who perpetrates it against them, violence against children and adolescents is ‘unacceptable’.
‘They violate their fundamental rights, recognised in article 39 of the Spanish Constitution and in various international treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,’ the director general stressed.

Signs that could say a lot follows in the wake of two previous institutional campaigns, promoted by the Directorate General for Children and Adolescents. The campaigns are part of the efforts to eradicate violence against children promoted by the Organic Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence ( LOPIVI).

This is the second request sent by the island institution since last April: if no response is received, action will be taken by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law on Historical Heritage.

The Consell de Mallorca requests the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede Alaró Castle for its urgent conservation. The vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, has informed that this is the second request made to the Spanish government since last April and assures that, should the administrative silence continue, the Consell de Mallorca will initiate the necessary actions to guarantee the conservation of the Castle of Alaró.

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The Consell de Mallorca asks the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede the Castle of Alaró for its urgent conservation

Roca explained that Alaró Castle, a state-owned Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), is in a state of deterioration that threatens its stability and the safety of visitors. This alarming deterioration in recent years affects the walls in particular.

Despite the joint efforts of the Consell de Mallorca and the Alaró Town Hall, no significant intervention has been carried out by the Ministry of Culture, the monument’s owner. Roca believes that the situation is unsustainable and that immediate intervention is necessary, which the island’s institution will carry out if the Ministry continues to neglect the monument.

The first phase of the conservation project proposed by the Consell de Mallorca would focus on the castle’s access area, with actions that include removing vegetation, repairing areas of deterioration on the walls and replacing construction mortar.

‘Alaró Castle is a symbol of our heritage, but if we do not act soon, we run the risk of losing a cultural asset of great value. We demand that the Ministry of Culture authorise us to intervene urgently and that it temporarily cede the use of the castle to us so that we can carry out these conservation works,’ said the vice-president and councillor Antònia Roca. ‘If we do not receive a response, the Consell de Mallorca will act by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law of Historical Heritage of the Balearic Islands,’ she explained.

The Consell de Mallorca has included in its request detailed technical reports, including the conservation report of July 2021 and the technical report of 2024, which show the need for immediate action to guarantee the safety of the monument.

The Artà Demand Unit goes on alert, activating the measures of the Special Action Plan for Situations of Alert and Possible Drought.

Water reserves in the Balearic Islands have increased to 46% during September, an increase of 3 percentage points over the previous month, but still 6 points less than in the same period last year, when they stood at 52%. This situation continues to call for rigorous monitoring and responsible management of available resources.

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Water reserves in the Balearic Islands increase to 46% during September

This month there has been a change of scenario: the Artà Demand Unit (UD) has gone on alert. Thus, the UD of Artà, es Pla and Formentera are currently in the alert scenario, activating the measures established in the Special Plan of Actions in Situations of Alert and Possible Drought. These measures include the limitation of garden irrigation, street cleaning, ornamental uses and beach showers by the managing entities without connection to desalination plants, as well as restrictions on water supply in rural areas and the promotion of awareness campaigns by the administrations.

Meanwhile, 82.2% of the Balearic Islands territory, comprising the UD of Menorca, Manacor-Felanitx, Migjorn, Palma-Alcúdia, Tramuntana Norte, Tramuntana Sur and Eivissa, remains in pre-alert.

About the evolution of bookings by Demand Unit, four DUs have registered a decrease: Artà, Manacor-Felanitx, Tramuntana Sur and Formentera, while three DUs have experienced an increase: Menorca, Migjorn and Tramuntana Norte. The UDs of es Pla, Palma-Alcúdia and Eivissa have remained stable. The general index for the demarcation is 0.365, a slight increase compared to the previous month, but lower than last year (0.429) and two years ago (0.438).

As for the percentages of bookings by island, Mallorca has risen from 43% to 47%, Menorca has increased from 39% to 44%, and Eivissa has increased slightly from 32% to 33%. Despite this improvement, the overall situation in the Balearic Islands is still less favourable than it was a year ago.

According to AEMET data, September was a normal month in terms of rainfall, with an average of 48.8 l/m² compared to the usual 61.2 l/m². By islands, Menorca recorded 48.1 l/m² (vs. 56.9 l/m²), Mallorca 49.0 l/m² (vs. 62.7 l/m²) and Eivissa 55.3 l/m² (vs. 60.1 l/m²). In contrast, Formentera had a dry month, with only 22.2 l/m² (vs. 42.6 l/m²).

The percentage of accumulated annual rainfall in the Balearics stands at 76%, with Mallorca at 77%, Menorca at 87% and the Pitiusas at 56%. In terms of temperatures, the month of September has been considered normal, with an average temperature of 22.1ºC and an anomaly of -0.2ºC.

Considering the current situation and the recorded rainfall, it is expected that stocks may continue to increase during the month of October, with no significant changes in the scenario expected.

The Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aegesen, has announced in the Senate the publication of the resolution to finance the projects of 40 local entities and non-profit associations that will train 110,000 people in rural areas.

The Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has announced that the ministry she heads has published the final resolution of the line of aid for the Digital Rural Challenge Programme.

‘On this occasion, 40 local entities and non-profit associations have benefited, and in this case, these 21 million that come from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, will allow approximately 110,000 students to have new skills in the digital environment,’ said the Vice President before the Senate’s Commission on Depopulation and Demographic Challenge.

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Ecological Transition grants 21 million euros in aid for digital skills in rural areas

The Rural Digital Challenge Programme seeks to promote the development of digital training initiatives for the inhabitants of rural areas, with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups in rural areas: the elderly, the unemployed and children and young people.

The aim is to promote the acquisition of basic digital skills by citizens, so that they can operate with confidence and security when communicating, getting information, carrying out formalities or solving problems in the digital environment. A programme that complements the progress made in terms of the digital divide between cities and towns, which has been reduced by 36 points since 2018.

‘The digital divide with cities has gone from 42 points in 2018 to 6 in 2024. This is a success story for the country, a necessary condition for creating opportunities in rural areas. And, with the Conéctate35 satellite coverage programme, promoted by Hispasat, rural broadband coverage is 100%. At last, rural areas have universal coverage. In just a few years this government has taken the figures from 38% to 100%’, Aagesen highlighted.

The beneficiaries of the final resolution announced by the Vice-President include 10 local entities – provincial councils – and 30 non-profit associations that will provide training in basic digital skills in rural environments and demographic priority areas and, specifically, in municipalities with a population of 5,000 inhabitants or less, or municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, when the actions are carried out in smaller local entities and municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants with scattered population centres, as long as the actions are carried out in these centres.

The Provincial Council of Badajoz, the Fundación Universidad Empresa de la Región de Murcia, the Provincial Council of Ourense, the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the Unión de Pequeños Agricultores are some of the entities that receive the largest funding to deploy their projects, with grants of up to 750,000 euros.

The training will be provided before the second quarter of 2026, paying special attention to young people, women, the unemployed and the elderly. Thus, through the implementation of this programme, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge expects to train a total of 110,000 students, which represents an increase of 22% over the targets set in the Recovery Plan, which includes a commitment to train 90,000 people.

Inca City Council is promoting a project to plant and replace new trees in different public spaces in the city to mitigate the heatwave effect. Thus, the corresponding tenders have already been launched and it is expected that at the beginning of next year work will begin in the different areas and, progressively, work will be carried out in the affected streets. At the same time, an information session was also held to explain the details of the project and all the initiatives that will be carried out over the next few months to the citizens of the town.

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Inca will improve the city’s street furniture to mitigate the heatwave effect

‘The tree planting plays a fundamental role in the environmental quality of the city. That is why we have promoted this project to make a decisive contribution to improving the management and use of urban green infrastructure. The regulation of the temperature or the capture of pollutants are some of the positive effects of the trees that directly affect people’s health’, explains the mayor of Inca, Virgilio Moreno.

Thus, the general objectives of this project are to improve green infrastructures and link them to the natural context, to increase resilience in the face of climate change and to guarantee the quality and accessibility of public spaces. Likewise, these actions will also help to lower the city’s temperature, reduce solar radiation during the hottest months, increase CO2 capture and oxygen production, reduce pollution (O3, CO, NO2, PM2.5, PM10, SO2), increase carbon capture, reduce pollution (O3, CO, NO2, PM2.5, PM10, SO2), increase carbon sequestration, reduce pollution and increase infiltration.

The specific areas of action of this project are Carrer Marjades, Carrer Josep Barberí, Carrer Joan Miro, Carrer Sor Clara Andreu, Carrer Joan d’Àustria, Avinguda Jaume I and Avinguda Jaume II. The work being carried out as part of this project includes increasing the tree cover on the streets, removing trees in poor condition or that interfere with services, buildings or installations, increasing the permeable area of the scarcely accessible area and improving pedestrian walkways to improve accessibility, among other things.

This project is co-financed by the Conselleria d’Empresa, Ocupació i Energia within the framework of the public call for subsidies to local entities for actions to adapt to climate change in urban and peri-urban areas. The subsidised amount is 300,000 euros.

From this April, the Balearic Islands will improve the children’s vaccination schedule with the inclusion of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Until now, and since 2016, babies have been immunised against 13 serotypes in three doses. From this April, and following the authorisation of the European Medicines Agency for the use of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, the Balearic Islands will be the first Autonomous Community to include this booster vaccine in the children’s vaccination schedule.

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Health reinforces child vaccination against pneumococcus

The Director General of Public Health, Elena Esteban, explained this morning, in a presentation at the Palmanova health centre, all the details of the vaccine recently incorporated into the children’s vaccination schedule, which can achieve up to four times more protection than the previous vaccine of 13 serotypes, taking into account the circulating serotypes.

As explained by Elena Esteban, who was accompanied by the coordinator of the Primary Care vaccination centre, Verónica Vega, the immunisation of babies with the new drug will be carried out in four doses: at 2, 4 and 6 months, with a booster at 11 months.

This booster vaccine with 20 serotypes has been included in the adult population’s schedule as a single dose since last October. Vaccination against pneumococcal disease in adults is indicated for people aged between 65 and 75 years and people with risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease: transplant recipients, cancer patients, immunocompromised people, people with immunodeficiencies, cardiovascular or respiratory diseases or people institutionalised in nursing homes.

The Directorate General of Public Health of the Regional Ministry of Health has purchased 40,000 doses for the period between 31 March 2024 and 30 March 2025, with an investment of 1,961,000 euros. Of these, 25,500 doses are expected to be administered to the paediatric population, which usually achieves a vaccination coverage of 90%.

Pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are a major health problem, mainly associated with the existence of risk factors and also related to age. In Spain, in recent years, the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE) has recorded between 3,000 and 4,000 cases per year, mainly affecting children under five years of age and older people.

Vaccination is an essential tool to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease, and for this reason, the vaccine was included in the children’s schedule in 2016. In the case of older people, the vaccine was already administered to people in at-risk groups and 2018 the Public Health Commission approved universal vaccination at 65 years of age.

The presentation will take place at the Arxiu d’Imatge i So de Menorca next Thursday 12th December at 7pm in the auditorium of Can Victorii in Maó.

Within the framework of the exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. Como se vestía en Menorca entre 1850 y 1930’ the Arxiu d’Imatge I So de Menorca proposes a new activity to present the fashion of those years.

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Presentation: The English influence in 19th-century Menorcan fashion

Aina Gilabert Solé has done her baccalaureate research work on the English influence on 19th-century Menorcan fashion and has completed it with the creation of two reproductions of dresses from the period. Thus, on Thursday 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó, she presented the results of this research.

The activity will consist of an explanation of how the historical research was carried out and the results, as well as the presentation of the reproductions of the dresses and the challenges she had to face when sewing them.

The presentation of the work ‘THE ENGLISH INFLUENCE ON 19th CENTURY MENORCAN FASHION’ will take place on 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Free access.

Exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. How people dressed in Menorca between 1850 and 1930’. Auditorium of Can Victori de Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Visiting hours: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1.30 pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4.30 pm to 8 pm.

The railway company signs an agreement with the Guardia Civil for the delivery of 300 transport cards and will extend this initiative to other entities

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) has signed a collaboration agreement with the 17th Zone/Commandery of the Civil Guard of the Balearic Islands to allow free travel to all its members in the services managed by the railway administrator. For this purpose, 300 non-nominative transport cards have been delivered to them, which can be used by all the members of this corps belonging to the demarcation of the island of Mallorca.

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SFM

The cards provided through this initiative have an identification number that will allow to have a personalized record of its use by the Command and the main objective is that the members of the corps can have easy access to both train and metro stations to facilitate possible interventions or develop research and intelligence work, but also encourage the use of public rail transport among its members.

The measure gives continuity to other similar agreements already in effect by SFM, such as the one made under the same conditions with the National Police a few years ago or with the Local Police of Sineu, more recently. Likewise, SFM intends to follow the same steps with other local police forces in municipalities along the railway corridor.

On the other hand, SFM has opened the application for obtaining group tickets to new entities, such as associations or leisure and free time entities, the different groups of the Moviment Escolta i Guiatge de Mallorca, entities that work with people with functional diversity or senior citizens or other similar groups that want to benefit from the advantages of this ticket.

Until now, the purchase of group tickets was authorized exclusively to schools attached to the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Balearic Islands, being free of charge for students in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools and offering very low fares for the rest of the courses.

It should be remembered that the group ticket must be requested to SFM in advance and following the established channels and it is not necessary to have the Intermodal Card to make use of it by any member of the group traveling on the train. It is a type of ticket widely used for excursions or outings by schools since, apart from the economic benefit if you do not have an Intermodal Card, it allows you to organize the trip with the advice of the railway company’s staff and speeds up the access and exit of the stations for the comfort and safety of both the group making the trip and the rest of the users of the railway network.

They account for 13.8% of the total number of Social Security contributors, six-tenths of a percentage point more than last year. Since the implementation of the labour reform, 44.1% of the employment created in the last three years has been by foreign workers.

Social Security registered 2,971,811 foreign affiliates in February, after discounting seasonality and the calendar effect, after adding 15,804 employed persons. Over the last twelve months, the number of people employed from other countries has increased by 7.6%. This is a new high in seasonally adjusted foreign employment, in line with the trend that has been maintained throughout 2024.

The number of foreign affiliates increased by 15,804 employed persons in February, of which 4,204 were self-employed

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Since the implementation of the labour reform in 2022, the system has seen an increase of 604,592 workers from other countries, i.e. an increase of 26.6%. This means that 44.1% of the employment created in these last three years corresponds to foreign workers.

In the context of overall enrolment, foreign workers account for 13.8% of the total number of employed, six-tenths more than a year ago.

Average enrolment
In average terms and without seasonal adjustment, i.e. in the original series, Social Security registered 2,874,398 affiliates from other countries, 202,851 more in the last year and 31,369 more than in January.

This is the highest number of total foreign contributors to Social Security, both in the original series and seasonally adjusted for February.

Self-employed workers
With regard to the distribution by regimes, the increase in self-employed workers from other countries is worth noting. In the last month alone, there has been an increase of 4,204 foreign workers in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA).

In February, foreign workers accounted for 90% of the rate of increase in the RETA over the last year (1.1% of the 1.2% of the total). Specifically, there are 471,559 workers registered in this special regime, an increase of 8.2% in year-on-year terms, and they represent 16.4% of the total number of self-employed workers in Spain.

The increase in the number of foreign self-employed in the last year has been particularly pronounced in the Information and communications sector, which has grown by 34.5%. Also of note is Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, which has seen a 17.3% increase in the number of self-employed workers.

General Scheme
In line with the situation of native workers, 83.4% of foreign affiliates were enrolled in the General Social Security Scheme, reaching 2,398,066 workers.

In the last 12 months, foreign enrolment in this scheme has grown by around 7.5%, and in seven sectors in particular: Transport and Storage (24.9%), Water Supply (11.9%), Administrative Activities (9.7%), Health Activities (9.6%), Construction (9.4%), Manufacturing Industry (9.3%) and Accommodation (9.10%).

The year-on-year growth in foreign enrolment is also very notable in high value-added activities, with notable growth in Financial Activities (9%), Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (7.6%) and Information and Communications, which increased by 7%.

The distribution by sector in both the General Regime and the Self-Employed Workers’ Regime shows a growing diversification.

This new cycle responds to the demands of the need to incorporate studies linked to the nautical sector.

Students will do their paid internships at the facilities of members of the Association of Industries and Nautical Services of Ibiza and Formentera

The Department of Education and Universities incorporates the middle grade of Vocational Training in Maintenance of Recreational Boats in the intensive dual mode in the Integrated Vocational Training Centre (CIFP) Can Marines of Santa Eulària des Riu, on the island of Ibiza, which will begin to be taught next September. Fifteen places will be offered for this degree.

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The intermediate level of VET in Boat Maintenance at CIFP Can Marines from September

The Regional Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, accompanied by the Director General of Vocational Training and Educational Planning, Maria Isabel Salas; the territorial director of Education in Ibiza and Formentera, Juan Álvarez, the president of the Association of Nautical Industries and Services of Ibiza and Formentera, Ramon van der Hooft, and the director of CIFP Can Marines, Pep Marí Tur, today presented the new studies, which will be taught for the first time in Ibiza and which will respond to the needs and demands of the nautical sector of the Pitiusas.

Students enrolled in the new intermediate degree will do their internships at the facilities of members of the Association of Nautical Industries and Services of Ibiza and Formentera. The studies will be taught in dual intensive regime, which means that students will have an employment contract and remuneration during their training.

The incorporation of these studies responds to the claims of companies in the sector, which warn of the lack of skilled labour. Professionals with this profile are in great demand in Ibiza, and in response to this need, the Regional Ministry of Education and Universities has decided to incorporate this educational offer, which has a high labour market insertion rate.

These studies are already offered in Mallorca and Menorca, and now they are also being incorporated into the CIFP Can Marines, where the intermediate degree in Navigation and Coastal Fishing Technician and the advanced degree in Maritime Transport and Deep-sea Fishing are already being offered.

Nearly 6.5 million passengers travelled on TIB between January and April, an increase of 1.9 million (42%) compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility of the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Transport Consortium of Mallorca (CTM), has recorded in the first four months of the year, from January to April 2024, nearly 6.5 million passengers who have travelled on the TIB bus, which represents an increase of 42.2% in the number of users compared to the same period of 2023, when free travel on all public transport was already in force.

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The number of passengers travelling on TIB buses rises by 42%

During the first four months of this year, the increase was more than 1.9 million passengers compared to the same period in 2023, from 4.5 million to nearly 6.5 million. This 42% increase in demand for TIB network buses comes between two periods in which free transport had already been introduced for users travelling with the Intermodal Card.

At present, the interurban public transport of the TIB network connects the different municipalities and areas of Mallorca with 71 bus lines. To cope with the increase in demand, both during the winter season and in the new service for the summer season, reinforcement measures have been adopted, mainly to increase frequencies on the bus lines.

During the winter season, from 1 November to 21 March, the TIB network was reinforced with an increase of 27 bus lines compared to the previous winter, an improvement of 53% of the total number of lines operating in this period. Likewise, for the summer season, this year the start of the reinforcement of the service was brought forward to 22 March compared to the last high season.

For the summer season, frequencies have been increased on a total of 24 bus lines, resuming service on sixteen lines and incorporating a new line (131) in the Serra de Tramuntana, between Santa Ponça, Banyalbufar and La Granja de Esporles.

Ten new compressed natural gas buses are expected to be added to the TIB’s current sustainable fleet in the coming weeks, increasing the current fleet, which currently has 201 compressed natural gas buses and eighteen electric buses.

About the reinforcements adopted for the summer season, in the Ponent area, the nuclei of Palmanova and Magaluf (104) have been better connected with services every 15 minutes in each direction, and, compared to last summer, the improved offer in the tourist area of Costa de la Calma also stands out, which almost doubles connectivity with Palma and Santa Ponça, with a new frequency of 25 minutes.

In the northern area of Mallorca, the late-night service on the suburban line connecting Alcúdia-Can Picafort (324) has been reinforced, reaching beyond 00.00 h with a stable frequency of 12-13 minutes; line 302 has been improved compared to 2023 by increasing the frequency to one bus every twenty minutes during peak hours and extending the service until 0. 10 am to ensure that hotel and restaurant workers can return home; and in the centre of Cala Sant Vicenç, line 321 has brought forward the daily start time to 7.10 am.

On the Llevant coast, the Cales de Mallorca line (416) has increased its services by 50% since the end of March, and in the Migjorn area, the Campos-Palma express services (501) have been added throughout the day. Concerning the Aerotib lines that connect with Palma airport, the A32 and A42 lines have increased their service by 10 % compared to the summer of 2023.

The activities will take place in Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca.

The Institute of Balearic Studies (IEB) is launching a new initiative to promote the use of the Catalan language through guided tours to discover the environment, history and culture of our islands. The initiative aims to create spaces for socialising in which Catalan speakers and people who want to practice the Catalan language can participate.

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New opportunity to share Catalan as part of the celebration of International Museum Day

The initial activities have been carried out on the island of Mallorca, aimed exclusively at students on IEB courses. The first visit took place this Monday, 13th May, at 6A Taller i Galeria d’Art, where they were able to see the gallery’s current exhibition and the printmaking workshop. The second meeting is scheduled for today, Wednesday the 15th of May, with a morning and afternoon session at Es Baluart Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma. During the visit, visitors will be able to tour the exhibitions by Belio Fullana and Ana Laura Aláez, as well as see the terraces of the emblematic building.

The following visits will take place in Ibiza and Menorca on Saturday the 18th of May, coinciding with International Museum Day. In the city of Ibiza, there will be a guided tour of the Puig des Molins Monographic Museum, through some specially selected objects to learn about the universe of beliefs, rites and funerary behaviour of the men and women of antiquity. You will also have the opportunity to walk through the necropolis and descend into a set of 2,500-year-old underground tombs.

In Menorca, the Museum of Menorca in Maó has prepared a guided tour of its permanent exhibition, with ten carefully chosen objects that invite visitors to travel through the history of Menorca and learn about the island’s details from the technicians.

The director of the Institute of Balearic Studies, Llorenç Perelló, states that “initiatives like this promote the regular use of the Catalan language in different scenarios of everyday life, such as these guided tours, to learn about the culture of our islands at the same time”.

The Social Security Reserve Fund exceeded 8.3 billion euros in September and will end 2024 with 300 million more than expected.

The Social Security Reserve Fund reached €8.356 billion on September 30, the highest level since December 2017, and is set to end the year with nearly €9.3 billion accumulated.

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The Government revises upwards the “pension fund”, which will close the year with 9,300 million

The so-called ‘pension piggy bank’, which ended 2023 with 5,578 million euros, has so far this year received contributions worth 2,623 million euros, thanks to the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, which came into force in 2023, to provide resources to this fund through a percentage of the contribution for common contingencies, distributed between the company and the worker with the same distribution as in social contributions.

In September alone, the Reserve Fund received allocations of 314.7 million euros, to which will be added those corresponding to the last three months of the year.

The exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Mallorca from 3 June to 8 September.

The Consell de Mallorca is organising an exhibition dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has announced that “for the first time, the 12 works that the artist produced on the island will be shown together in the same room”.

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The Consell de Mallorca organises an exhibition dedicated to Sorolla

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 3 June at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Mallorca and will be open until 8 September. During these months, stressed the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, “it will be possible to enjoy the essence of Sorolla: his textures, brushstrokes and experimentation with colours and light that he carried out in places like Palma, the coast of Valldemossa and Pollença”.

The Sorolla Museum has contributed 10 works that the artist produced on the island: seven paintings of Cala Sant Vicenç, a portrait of a pagan woman and two of Mallorcan houses. In addition, Es Baluard and a private collection in Madrid have left two more works by Sorolla that complete his journey around Mallorca.

This is the last stop of the project “Sorolla. Travelling to paint”, which is being carried out to commemorate the centenary of the death of Joaquín Sorolla Bastida (1863-1923), an event declared an Event of Exceptional Public Interest for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024. The aim is to take Sorolla’s works to the main places where they were executed: they have already been to San Sebastián, Toledo, Galicia, Valladolid and Seville, and the last stop is Mallorca.

Sorolla was in the Balearic Islands in the summer of 1919. This trip was of particular importance for the painter’s career, as the paintings made on this trip were Sorolla’s last view of the Mediterranean, as the following June he suffered the cardiovascular accident that kept him away from painting until the end of his life three years later. “This exhibition, therefore, represents the perfect closure to the project,” said Galmés.

The Minister of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures, Fernando Rubio, today received representatives of AEVAB and BALEVAL to gather their contributions to the study of the road network load that the island institution is preparing.

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The Consell de Mallorca meets with car hire companies

The Minister of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures, Fernando Rubio, met today with representatives of the two car hire associations of the Balearic Islands to study measures agreed with the sector to study solutions to the saturation of Mallorca’s roads. Rubio was accompanied by the island directors of Mobility, Rafael Oliver, and Infrastructures, Rafel Gelabert. The delegation from the Agrupación Empresarial de Alquiler de Vehículos con y sin Conductor de Baleares (AEVAB) was headed by its president Ramon Reus. For its part, the Balearic Association of Car Rental with and without Driver (BALEVAL) was represented by its board of directors, chaired by Othman Ktiri.

Fernando Rubio explained that the Department of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures is working intensively to draw up a study of the load on the island’s roads, a document that until now has never been carried out in Mallorca to find out with official and contrasted data what the causes of the traffic jams on Mallorca’s road network are. Rubio reiterated that the study will also propose solutions, both with infrastructures and possible regulations, and that the Consell is ‘willing to take courageous measures’ to improve the mobility of Mallorcans, as the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has stated on several occasions.

The car hire companies have shown their willingness to collaborate with the Consell in the search for effective solutions to alleviate the saturation of the island’s roads.

Today’s meetings with AEVAB and BALEBAL are the second that the Department of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures will hold with representatives of the sectors involved and civil society. The aim is to hear their opinions first-hand and reach a consensus on possible solutions to the saturation suffered by Mallorca.