Since the current government came to power, it has employed some 2,700 more people, an increase of eight per cent. At the same time, personnel costs have risen by 381 million euros - 30.2%.
The discrepancy is largely explained by the fact that bonuses, which had been frozen by the Bauzá government from 2011 to 2015, have been unfrozen. In the case of the so-called professional career bonus, this has added 130 million euros to personnel costs. The government's personnel budget for 2019 is 1,641 million euros. In 2015, when the final budget of the Partido Popular administration applied, it was 1,260 million.
At the Council of Majorca the personnel costs have risen from 109 million in 2015 to 142 million in the budget for 2019. This rise owes little to new recruitment as the Council's hiring is restricted by national government budgetary stability rules. Contractual terms have been amended in some cases, and these have led to higher pay. The councillor for finance, Cosme Bonet, cites the example of twenty-five members of the fire service, whose hourly pay has risen and who also now get bonuses which had previously been frozen.
Where the government is concerned, it has not been constrained in its recruitment, especially when it comes to education. One thousand more teachers have been taken on since 2015 and there will be a further 350 for the school year 2019 to 2020.
