Mallorca unions critical of unequal bonuses for health workers

Union representatives at Son Espases.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma22/06/2021 15:01

On Monday, the Balearic government announced that health workers will be paid a bonus in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic. Unions, however, are critical of how bonus payments are to be made. This will be by increasing a previous productivity supplement (totalling two million euros) to ten million, with payments to be based on what are known as management contracts and therefore linked to the work performed by each health professional.

Various unions have expressed their dissatisfaction with how Son Espases Hospital is to pay this bonus with the June salaries. They believe that it will generate grievances and claim that it is "a nonsense" to link it to management contracts when there were no payment forecasts because of a pandemic. Furthermore, there was no discussion about the bonus. The first that the unions heard about it was at a health board meeting on June 7.

As there is no standardisation with these contracts, there will be "comparative grievances"; some workers will get more than others. The unions want all health workers to be rewarded equally.