Two summertime workplace inspectors put the screws on job insecurity

foto pla lluita 2Three officials from the Balearic and Formentera public administrations —regional minister of employment, trade and industry Iago Negueruela, local trade secretary Alejandra Ferrer, and Balearic chief of employment, social economy and workplace health Isabel Castro— sat down this afternoon to tell Formentera about the plan to tackle employment insecurity in 2018.

Negueruela explained that one feature of the plan, which this year is in its fourth iteration, calls for two inspectors exclusively for Formentera. The pair, who arrived on the island at the start of July and will remain through the end of August, will be responsible for overseeing roughly 80 inspections.

According to Negueruela, 1,096 individuals have seen their workplace conditions improve in the last three years thanks to the plan. He nuanced his remarks by saying that the short-term nature of local jobs makes employment in the islands extremely precarious. The Balearic minister said that insecurity must be the focal point of any corrective strategy.

For her part, secretary Ferrer trumpeted the success of past versions of the scheme, touting their ability to hamper unfair competition, guarantee employee rights and take aim at job insecurity.

She also highlighted Formentera's historic participation in such efforts. With help from within the Council, the inspectors were able to find housing, which, in turn, made it possible to expand their patrols. Ferrer described the more expansive patrols as vital, “particularly since so many of Formentera's businesses open at eight in the evening”. “In the past, the inspectors came over on the ten a.m. ferry and left at six in the evening”, explained Ferrer, a fact which effectively shielded nighttime businesses from inspections.