January 20 is the day of Sant Sebastià, Saint Sebastian, Palma's patron saint. It would normally be a holiday in Palma, but the town hall took the decision, partly because it is a Saturday this year, not to declare it a holiday. As with other town halls, two days of holiday per year can be added to national and regional holidays. The choice is up to town halls, and for 2024 these will be Sant Joan (June 24) and Boxing Day.
In Mallorca, there are three associations which represent small retailers. One of the three, Pimem-Comerç, has called on shops to close on Saturday. A protest against the town hall's decision, it has also been pointed out that business is likely to be down anyway because of activities for the Sant Sebastià Fiestas.
All three associations - Afedeco and (confusingly) Pimeco, plus Pimem-Comerç - have highlighted Saturday's Cycling Day. This starts at noon and it will mean inconvenience. Accessing the centre of the city will be made difficult because of road closures.
The president of Pimeco, Carolina Domingo, says that the town hall should have thought about this before deciding not to declare Saturday a holiday. Her association, like the other two, believes that it was the wrong decision. While only Pimem-Comerç has expressly suggested that shops should close, the feelings of the retailers regarding the town hall's decision can be summed up in one word from the Afedeco president, Toni Gaya - "stupid".
As it is, Domingo explains that there are shops which are considering opening later than usual and closing earlier, with hours of 11am to 7pm. The town hall has accepted that some shops won't be opening and "respects" the decisions of individual businessowners.
The town hall's decision was unanimously approved by all political parties. But given the fuss, two opposition parties - Més and PSOE - will be proposing the creation of a commission comprising councillors, unions, employers and residents to set next year's holidays; Sant Sebastià will be a Monday in 2025.
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