News

At conference, regional first ministers join chorus of opposition to planned prospections, surveys

Monday, 07 May 2018 16:42

Foto conf pres 2018 CiF president Jaume Ferrer met today at the Eivissa Council with Balearic chief Francina Armengol and their opposite numbers across the islands.

As attendees prepared to depart, Ferrer described the day as “immensely productive” and confided, “it's always a good thing to sit down with the other first ministers and the regional president and talk about the issues affecting all of us”.

On that note, Ferrer gave voice to concerns surrounding permits for hydrocarbon exploration in local waters. “Formentera is opposed to these projects. We expressed it unanimously in plenary assembly, and encourage our counterparts across the islands to act in kind”, he declared. Put simply, “if we fail to protect our natural surroundings as ecological havens, we can forget about tourism and fishing resources”.

At the meeting's close, attendees formalised their commitment to keeping the Mediterranean free of exploration and surveying. They signed a document urging the Madrid government to join the Balearic administrations in blocking projects which stand to jeopardise nearby marine wildlife and the Mediterranean Sea at large.

Council finds steady ground for 85 long-term temp workers

Friday, 04 May 2018 15:24

Consell i placa constitucio The human resources department of the Formentera Council reports that 85 individuals retained by the administration as public servants, albeit temporarily, will see their contracts become permanent now that they can attest to two years of uninterrupted employment.

The contractual retooling has been progressive, with contracts being rewriting individual contracts as expiry dates loomed. In the months ahead they intend to follow the model until the 12 remaining regularitzacions can take place, ultimately eliminating long-haul temporary employment contracts from the administration's playbook altogether.

The effort arose from a measure adopted in a plenary assembly December 16, 2016, when a cabinet proposal to make the change netted unanimous support.

Approval finally became a reality some months after a September 14 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that termination packages for long-haul contracts were equivalent to those for permanent staff.

In the words of Vanessa Parellada, the CiF's secretary of social welfare, youth services and human resources, the change “adds security, quality and more expansive rights to those enjoyed by our administration's public servants”.

New sabbatical rights
One result of the measure is that workers previously ineligible for extended leave will now be eligible thanks to the change. To date, 12 temporary employees whose time on the Council's payroll exceeded two years have already availed themselves of this new right.

Council and PIMEF agree to extend partnership

Thursday, 03 May 2018 14:37

Pimef 2018 CiF chief Jaume Ferrer and Pep Mayans, chairman of the island's league of small and medium-sized businesses, struck a deal for training, business consulting and coordination with the Council's trade department on campaigns to help small-business owners give a boost to competitiveness, innovation, design, quality, promotion and employee development.

The deal enshrines the administration's €22,000 pledge to the PIMEF (Petita i Mitjana Empresa de Formentera) for projects giving local business owners tools to recalibrate strategy and remain adaptive and dynamic.

The PIMEF will host an educational series during quiet periods of the 2018 calendar, a reflection of the group's goal of reaching an ever broader range of participants. Classes will explore hiring strategies, internet sales, photography, marketing, communication and social skills. Consultancy will also be provided to islanders interested in creating their own business as well as local proprietors of enterprises already in place, on topics such as preventing workplace risks.

The arrangement would see the PIMEF chair collaborating with various arms of the Council—the trade department (to design campaigns in the style of Compra a Casa), the conselleria for culture (on research into cultural patronage), the office of tourism (on management and content upgrades to the Formentera 365 app). It would also extend to promotion of Save Posidonia Project, reaching out to owners of local businesses, restaurants and service-oriented enterprises for the door-to-door initiative.

Normal vehicle traffic to resume in Sant Ferran as crews finish work

Thursday, 03 May 2018 15:45

Obres gmontgri acabades Formentera's infrastructure office reports that with road work complete, motorists in Sant Ferran can once again travel the northern stretch of a nearby arterial from this Saturday morning.

Upgrades this winter along carrer Guillem de Montgrí were seen as pro-pedestrian and a boost to local business. Crews eliminated a gaping height difference between the pavement and street and widened the pavements themselves. They also put in place new signage and painted lines on the road surface to reflect the town's new metred parking. That system, expected to alleviate the town's parking crunch, will take effect in June.

Honourees announced in Beni Trutmann contest's 16th edition

Wednesday, 02 May 2018 17:30

1er premi fotodenuncia 2018 Submissions to the sixteenth Beni Trutmann photo contest form the basis of a show that opened Monday in Sant Francesc's municipal exhibition space. Winners were also honoured at the show's Sala d'Exposicions vernissage. The selection of photos remains on display weekdays, 11.00am to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, through May 12.

Since its genesis, the contest named for Beni Trutmann has covered island nature in all its forms—landscapes, flora and fauna, and humans' interaction with the natural world. In the 16 years since the competition was created as a way to pay tribute to the photographer who left the island with a legacy of over thirty thousand photos, it has become increasingly difficult to imagine local photography without also evoking the contest itself.

Twenty-six local photographers took part in this year's competition. Aside from the classic categories of Black and White and Colour, some of the contestants' 76 submitted prints were featured in an altogether new category —Fotodenúncia—for politically-charged work in service of social or environmental justice. No fewer than 54 youth aged 12 to 18 submitted photos (a total of 125 of them) to the Smart phone category. A panel of judges unanimously picked the following winners.

Winners – Colour

First prize: Jaime Franch Rojo - 500 euros
Second prize: Wolfgang Wicher - 300 euros
Third prize: Joan Ribas Ferrer - 200 euros

Winners – Black and White

First prize: Iria Sánchez Rodríguez - 500 euros
Second prize: Maurizio Lamberti - 300 euros
Third prize: Josep López Vañó - 200 euros

Winner – Fotodenúncia

First prize: Juan Juan Juan - 500 euros

Winners – Smart phone

First prize: Natalia González Lacasa   (Polaroid SNAP instant camera)
Second prize: Ainoa Bolívar Rescalvo   (Polaroid Cube action camera)
Third prize: Joao Gonçalves Rouanet   (Polaroid IF045 sport camera)

Culture secretary Susana Labrador extended her thanks to everyone who presented submissions as well as the panelists enlisted to pick this year's winners—“no easy task”, she confided.