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Times may be hard for some but not if you are a Council of Majorca minister. At a council meeting yesterday it was decided that each Council of Majorca minister would be paid 140'000 pesetas for attending a Council meeting, up from 40'000 pesetas. The financial package comes as the Council of Majorca is given more control of the island by the Balearic government. Balearic leader Francesc Antich wants each island to govern itself through its own regional Council. The responsibility and power of the Council has risen quite dramatically over the last two years and is expected to increase even further. Last week the President of the Majorcan Tourist Board called for the Council of Majorca to be given all responsibility for the tourist industry, presently controlled by the local government's department of tourism. The leader of the Council of Majorca, Majorcan Unionist Maria Antonia Munar, has claimed that the pay increases were in line with what other ministers were getting on the mainland. The Council of Majorca usually meets at least once a month although now that it has greater responsibility there have been calls for more regular meetings. The pay increases were criticised by the opposition Partido Popular yesterday who said that it was unfair to increase wages at this time of economic uncertainty.