14th October 2024

The programme, organised by the Jewish Community of the Balearic Islands with the support of the City Council, will begin this Tuesday with a conference by the biblical scholar and theologian Jaime Vázquez on the Dead Sea manuscripts.

Palma, 14th October 2024. This Monday, the Can Bordils premises, the headquarters of the Arxiu General de Palma, hosted the presentation of the European Youth Culture Day, which will be held from the 15th to the 29th of October, organised by the Comunitat Jueva de les Illes Balears and with the collaboration of the Ajuntament de Palma.

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Can Bordils will be one of the main venues for the activities of the European Day of Youth Culture

The programme includes different activities to disseminate some of the most deeply-rooted historical and cultural aspects of the Jewish legacy, through lectures, round tables, film screenings, guided tours and musical concerts.

On behalf of the City Council, the Director General of Heritage and Interpretation of the City, Pilar Ribal, attended the informative meeting. Also present were the president of the Comunitat Jueva, Ariel Girondi, and its vice-president, Miquel Segura.

During his speech, Ribal stressed that this is ‘an essential date with the history of Palma’, where, he said, the Jewish imprint ‘has made a decisive contribution to the evolution of the capital of the Balearic Islands, which is indebted to this tradition and culture, its rich heritage and values that have been transmitted and strengthened from generation to generation’.
Can Bordils is one of the main stages of the programme of the European Day of Youth Culture, hosting three activities, all of which will begin at 19:00.
On Tuesday, the conference ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls. The story of their discovery’, which will be given by the biblical scholar, theologian and journalist Jaime Vázquez Allegue.
This speaker has spent more than 25 years studying these manuscripts, which were found in 1947 in the desert of Judah, constituting, according to experts, the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century.
In fact, the documents that the speaker will discuss contain the oldest texts of the Hebrew bible and a large collection of writings that outline the social, political and religious context of Jerusalem.
Jaime Vázquez is a tenured professor at CESAG and holds a PhD in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

This new cycle responds to the demands of the need to incorporate studies linked to the nautical sector.

Students will do their paid internships at the facilities of members of the Association of Industries and Nautical Services of Ibiza and Formentera

The Department of Education and Universities incorporates the middle grade of Vocational Training in Maintenance of Recreational Boats in the intensive dual mode in the Integrated Vocational Training Centre (CIFP) Can Marines of Santa Eulària des Riu, on the island of Ibiza, which will begin to be taught next September. Fifteen places will be offered for this degree.

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The intermediate level of VET in Boat Maintenance at CIFP Can Marines from September

The Regional Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, accompanied by the Director General of Vocational Training and Educational Planning, Maria Isabel Salas; the territorial director of Education in Ibiza and Formentera, Juan Álvarez, the president of the Association of Nautical Industries and Services of Ibiza and Formentera, Ramon van der Hooft, and the director of CIFP Can Marines, Pep Marí Tur, today presented the new studies, which will be taught for the first time in Ibiza and which will respond to the needs and demands of the nautical sector of the Pitiusas.

Students enrolled in the new intermediate degree will do their internships at the facilities of members of the Association of Nautical Industries and Services of Ibiza and Formentera. The studies will be taught in dual intensive regime, which means that students will have an employment contract and remuneration during their training.

The incorporation of these studies responds to the claims of companies in the sector, which warn of the lack of skilled labour. Professionals with this profile are in great demand in Ibiza, and in response to this need, the Regional Ministry of Education and Universities has decided to incorporate this educational offer, which has a high labour market insertion rate.

These studies are already offered in Mallorca and Menorca, and now they are also being incorporated into the CIFP Can Marines, where the intermediate degree in Navigation and Coastal Fishing Technician and the advanced degree in Maritime Transport and Deep-sea Fishing are already being offered.

The councillor for Health, Manuela García, and the councillor for Education, Antoni Vera, attended the vaccination of 237 children at the Santa Mónica school in Palma, 65% of those vaccinated.

The pilot school immunisation plan continues, with 2,900 students born between 2019 and 2021 to be vaccinated.

The councillor for Health, Manuela García, accompanied by the councillor for Education, Antoni Vera, went today to the Santa Mónica school in Palma to show her support for the flu vaccination of 237 children in the second cycle of infant education, 65% of the 365 children enrolled in the school at these educational levels.

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The Pilot Plan for Childhood Immunisation against the flu has now been completed in 16 schools

The heads of Health and Education were accompanied during their visit to the Santa Mónica school by the director of Primary Care Nursing, Victòria Pascual, and Toñi Tarongí, pedagogical director of Infant and Primary Education, among other authorities.

Manuela García welcomed the high percentage of pupils whose parents gave their permission for them to be vaccinated and thanked them for their responsible attitude, reminding them that vaccination is recommended for this group of healthy children because the flu does not cause the most common symptoms of the epidemic disease, such as fever and fatigue, among them. ‘Young children who contract the flu can have serious complications such as pneumonia, asthma attacks or otitis,’ he said.
Vaccination is also recommended for this group even though the lethality rate among children under 15 years of age is very low. Ninety-five per cent of children who die from the disease are under five years of age.
Moreover, this age group has the second highest rate of hospitalisation and ICU admission due to influenza after the elderly. Not to mention the role that these children play in transmitting the flu in their homes and with their close relatives, sometimes elderly and fragile people in whom contagion can have tragic consequences.

These children under five years of age have been immunised as part of the pilot child vaccination plan, which was launched in coordination with the Ministries of Health and Education on Monday 14 October and will continue until 14 November. In this pilot scheme, 2,900 schoolchildren born between 2019 and 2021 from 24 public and state schools on the islands, as well as one private school, will be able to be immunised in their school. Eleven schools in Mallorca, eight in Ibiza and Formentera and five in Menorca are participating in this plan. This pilot plan has already been completed in 16 schools.
The acceptance rates for this vaccination at school have been as follows, by island: in Mallorca, 52%; 40% in Menorca; 32.3% in Ibiza and 50% in Formentera.
The children participating in this pilot plan are immunised in complete safety. Nurses from the health centres closest to the schools come to the classrooms with a first-aid kit to treat any possible adverse effects of the vaccines and remain there for up to half an hour after the last child has been immunised to prevent them from occurring. Children with severe egg allergies or intolerances or those with significant immunodeficiency will be excluded from this school vaccination.

Children aged 2 years to 4 years and 11 months have been given a convenient and painless intranasal flu vaccine. For the youngest children, from six months to two years of age, an inactivated injectable vaccine will be administered.

The Social Security Reserve Fund exceeded 8.3 billion euros in September and will end 2024 with 300 million more than expected.

The Social Security Reserve Fund reached €8.356 billion on September 30, the highest level since December 2017, and is set to end the year with nearly €9.3 billion accumulated.

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The Government revises upwards the “pension fund”, which will close the year with 9,300 million

The so-called ‘pension piggy bank’, which ended 2023 with 5,578 million euros, has so far this year received contributions worth 2,623 million euros, thanks to the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, which came into force in 2023, to provide resources to this fund through a percentage of the contribution for common contingencies, distributed between the company and the worker with the same distribution as in social contributions.

In September alone, the Reserve Fund received allocations of 314.7 million euros, to which will be added those corresponding to the last three months of the year.

Primary Care of Mallorca has prepared a campaign to disseminate on social networks on the occasion of the XXV Smoke-free Week

Primary Care of Mallorca has managed to double the number of people who quit smoking in 2023, compared to 2022, after participating in a smoking cessation group in health centres throughout Mallorca. These are group interventions to quit smoking (with the accompaniment and advice of health professionals) that are offered in the health centres of Mallorca to all those people who are considering quitting smoking. Thus, in 2022, a total of 91 smokers managed to give up the habit at the end of the group therapy. This figure rose to 184 people in 2023.

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The number of people who have quit smoking in the last year

Precisely in 2023, 38 smoking cessation treatment groups were set up in 24 health centres in Mallorca. These groups brought together a total of 667 patients, of whom 184 have managed to quit smoking.

This week is the 25th No Smoking Week, which culminates on Friday with World No Tobacco Day (31 May). This initiative, which is part of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (SEMFYC), is organised this year with the slogan ‘Zero emissions in your lungs too’.

Primary Care of Mallorca participates in this Smoke-Free Week with its commitment to promote health with a campaign that will be disseminated on social networks with the aim of raising awareness and motivating all those people who can not quit smoking or who have tried several times. These are testimonies of people who show that it is not the time or the number of attempts that matter, but the intention and commitment to oneself to give up smoking as many times as necessary until it is finally achieved.

The prevention and fight against smoking has been one of the commitments of the Primary Care Management of Mallorca for decades. In this sense, among other initiatives, numerous group and individual interventions have been carried out to stop smoking and informative community prevention activities to raise awareness among the population about the importance of a smoke-free life. Primary Care in Mallorca also has referents in each health centre who advise and provide the necessary tools to tackle smoking.

The entity will manage 13,000 terminals between basic and advanced TAD in 2024, 14,800 in 2025 and 15,900 in 2026.

The budget distribution is 483,760 euros in 2024, 3,610,630 in 2025 and 3,587,677 in 2026.

The Consell de Govern has authorised the councillor for Families and Social Affairs to allocate a maximum expenditure of 7,682,067 € for the agreement with the entity Servicios de Teleasistencia SA for the home telecare service for people in a situation of dependency from October 2024 to September 2026.

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7.6 million is allocated to the entity Servicios de Teleasistencia SA for the agreement from 2024 to 2026

The distribution of the budget is as follows:

483,760 € in October and November 2024 concerning the number of terminals previously contracted (7,200 basic TAD and 4,800 advanced TAD. The newly contracted terminals (800 basic TAD and 200 advanced TAD) will be with the effects of the agreement.

3,610,630 from December 2024 to November 2025.

3,587,677 from December 2025 to September 2026.

Currently, of the 12,000 terminals contracted by Servicios de Teleasistencia SA, 7,200 terminals are basic TAD and 4,800 are advanced TAD. The request that the entity has formalised is to manage: 8,000 basic TAD terminals and 5,000 advanced TAD terminals in 2024, 8,600 basic TAD terminals and 6,200 advanced TAD terminals in 2025, and 8,500 basic TAD terminals and 7,400 advanced TAD terminals in 2026.

The reference price per terminal/month is 14.96 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 24.44 € for advanced TAD in 2024, 16.65 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 26.30 € for advanced TAD in 2025 and 18.37 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 28.17 € for advanced TAD in 2026.

The Artà Demand Unit goes on alert, activating the measures of the Special Action Plan for Situations of Alert and Possible Drought.

Water reserves in the Balearic Islands have increased to 46% during September, an increase of 3 percentage points over the previous month, but still 6 points less than in the same period last year, when they stood at 52%. This situation continues to call for rigorous monitoring and responsible management of available resources.

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Water reserves in the Balearic Islands increase to 46% during September

This month there has been a change of scenario: the Artà Demand Unit (UD) has gone on alert. Thus, the UD of Artà, es Pla and Formentera are currently in the alert scenario, activating the measures established in the Special Plan of Actions in Situations of Alert and Possible Drought. These measures include the limitation of garden irrigation, street cleaning, ornamental uses and beach showers by the managing entities without connection to desalination plants, as well as restrictions on water supply in rural areas and the promotion of awareness campaigns by the administrations.

Meanwhile, 82.2% of the Balearic Islands territory, comprising the UD of Menorca, Manacor-Felanitx, Migjorn, Palma-Alcúdia, Tramuntana Norte, Tramuntana Sur and Eivissa, remains in pre-alert.

About the evolution of bookings by Demand Unit, four DUs have registered a decrease: Artà, Manacor-Felanitx, Tramuntana Sur and Formentera, while three DUs have experienced an increase: Menorca, Migjorn and Tramuntana Norte. The UDs of es Pla, Palma-Alcúdia and Eivissa have remained stable. The general index for the demarcation is 0.365, a slight increase compared to the previous month, but lower than last year (0.429) and two years ago (0.438).

As for the percentages of bookings by island, Mallorca has risen from 43% to 47%, Menorca has increased from 39% to 44%, and Eivissa has increased slightly from 32% to 33%. Despite this improvement, the overall situation in the Balearic Islands is still less favourable than it was a year ago.

According to AEMET data, September was a normal month in terms of rainfall, with an average of 48.8 l/m² compared to the usual 61.2 l/m². By islands, Menorca recorded 48.1 l/m² (vs. 56.9 l/m²), Mallorca 49.0 l/m² (vs. 62.7 l/m²) and Eivissa 55.3 l/m² (vs. 60.1 l/m²). In contrast, Formentera had a dry month, with only 22.2 l/m² (vs. 42.6 l/m²).

The percentage of accumulated annual rainfall in the Balearics stands at 76%, with Mallorca at 77%, Menorca at 87% and the Pitiusas at 56%. In terms of temperatures, the month of September has been considered normal, with an average temperature of 22.1ºC and an anomaly of -0.2ºC.

Considering the current situation and the recorded rainfall, it is expected that stocks may continue to increase during the month of October, with no significant changes in the scenario expected.

The Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aegesen, has announced in the Senate the publication of the resolution to finance the projects of 40 local entities and non-profit associations that will train 110,000 people in rural areas.

The Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has announced that the ministry she heads has published the final resolution of the line of aid for the Digital Rural Challenge Programme.

‘On this occasion, 40 local entities and non-profit associations have benefited, and in this case, these 21 million that come from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, will allow approximately 110,000 students to have new skills in the digital environment,’ said the Vice President before the Senate’s Commission on Depopulation and Demographic Challenge.

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Ecological Transition grants 21 million euros in aid for digital skills in rural areas

The Rural Digital Challenge Programme seeks to promote the development of digital training initiatives for the inhabitants of rural areas, with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups in rural areas: the elderly, the unemployed and children and young people.

The aim is to promote the acquisition of basic digital skills by citizens, so that they can operate with confidence and security when communicating, getting information, carrying out formalities or solving problems in the digital environment. A programme that complements the progress made in terms of the digital divide between cities and towns, which has been reduced by 36 points since 2018.

‘The digital divide with cities has gone from 42 points in 2018 to 6 in 2024. This is a success story for the country, a necessary condition for creating opportunities in rural areas. And, with the Conéctate35 satellite coverage programme, promoted by Hispasat, rural broadband coverage is 100%. At last, rural areas have universal coverage. In just a few years this government has taken the figures from 38% to 100%’, Aagesen highlighted.

The beneficiaries of the final resolution announced by the Vice-President include 10 local entities – provincial councils – and 30 non-profit associations that will provide training in basic digital skills in rural environments and demographic priority areas and, specifically, in municipalities with a population of 5,000 inhabitants or less, or municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, when the actions are carried out in smaller local entities and municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants with scattered population centres, as long as the actions are carried out in these centres.

The Provincial Council of Badajoz, the Fundación Universidad Empresa de la Región de Murcia, the Provincial Council of Ourense, the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the Unión de Pequeños Agricultores are some of the entities that receive the largest funding to deploy their projects, with grants of up to 750,000 euros.

The training will be provided before the second quarter of 2026, paying special attention to young people, women, the unemployed and the elderly. Thus, through the implementation of this programme, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge expects to train a total of 110,000 students, which represents an increase of 22% over the targets set in the Recovery Plan, which includes a commitment to train 90,000 people.

All information about these grants can be found at ajudeslloguer.caib.es

The Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility of the Government, through the Directorate General of Housing and Architecture, has approved the fifth payment of the 2024 housing rental aid program, amounting to nearly €1.7 million for 715 beneficiaries.

The payment resolution was published this Tuesday in the BOIB (Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands), and all details of these grants can now be consulted on the website ajudeslloguer.caib.es.

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The Government approves the fifth payment of 2024 housing rental aid, reaching €7.4 million for more than 3,100 beneficiaries

With this fifth payment resolution for the 2024 aid program, a total of €7.4 million has been disbursed so far to 3,133 beneficiaries.

Regarding the distribution by island, of the total 2024 aid granted:

• 2,259 beneficiaries in Mallorca, amounting to €5.3 million;
• 586 in Menorca, exceeding €1.3 million;
• 240 in Ibiza, nearly €640,000; and
• 48 beneficiaries in Formentera, totalling around €118,000.

The railway company signs an agreement with the Guardia Civil for the delivery of 300 transport cards and will extend this initiative to other entities

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) has signed a collaboration agreement with the 17th Zone/Commandery of the Civil Guard of the Balearic Islands to allow free travel to all its members in the services managed by the railway administrator. For this purpose, 300 non-nominative transport cards have been delivered to them, which can be used by all the members of this corps belonging to the demarcation of the island of Mallorca.

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SFM

The cards provided through this initiative have an identification number that will allow to have a personalized record of its use by the Command and the main objective is that the members of the corps can have easy access to both train and metro stations to facilitate possible interventions or develop research and intelligence work, but also encourage the use of public rail transport among its members.

The measure gives continuity to other similar agreements already in effect by SFM, such as the one made under the same conditions with the National Police a few years ago or with the Local Police of Sineu, more recently. Likewise, SFM intends to follow the same steps with other local police forces in municipalities along the railway corridor.

On the other hand, SFM has opened the application for obtaining group tickets to new entities, such as associations or leisure and free time entities, the different groups of the Moviment Escolta i Guiatge de Mallorca, entities that work with people with functional diversity or senior citizens or other similar groups that want to benefit from the advantages of this ticket.

Until now, the purchase of group tickets was authorized exclusively to schools attached to the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Balearic Islands, being free of charge for students in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools and offering very low fares for the rest of the courses.

It should be remembered that the group ticket must be requested to SFM in advance and following the established channels and it is not necessary to have the Intermodal Card to make use of it by any member of the group traveling on the train. It is a type of ticket widely used for excursions or outings by schools since, apart from the economic benefit if you do not have an Intermodal Card, it allows you to organize the trip with the advice of the railway company’s staff and speeds up the access and exit of the stations for the comfort and safety of both the group making the trip and the rest of the users of the railway network.

The presentation will take place at the Arxiu d’Imatge i So de Menorca next Thursday 12th December at 7pm in the auditorium of Can Victorii in Maó.

Within the framework of the exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. Como se vestía en Menorca entre 1850 y 1930’ the Arxiu d’Imatge I So de Menorca proposes a new activity to present the fashion of those years.

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Presentation: The English influence in 19th-century Menorcan fashion

Aina Gilabert Solé has done her baccalaureate research work on the English influence on 19th-century Menorcan fashion and has completed it with the creation of two reproductions of dresses from the period. Thus, on Thursday 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó, she presented the results of this research.

The activity will consist of an explanation of how the historical research was carried out and the results, as well as the presentation of the reproductions of the dresses and the challenges she had to face when sewing them.

The presentation of the work ‘THE ENGLISH INFLUENCE ON 19th CENTURY MENORCAN FASHION’ will take place on 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Free access.

Exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. How people dressed in Menorca between 1850 and 1930’. Auditorium of Can Victori de Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Visiting hours: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1.30 pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4.30 pm to 8 pm.

The exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Mallorca from 3 June to 8 September.

The Consell de Mallorca is organising an exhibition dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has announced that “for the first time, the 12 works that the artist produced on the island will be shown together in the same room”.

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The Consell de Mallorca organises an exhibition dedicated to Sorolla

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 3 June at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Mallorca and will be open until 8 September. During these months, stressed the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, “it will be possible to enjoy the essence of Sorolla: his textures, brushstrokes and experimentation with colours and light that he carried out in places like Palma, the coast of Valldemossa and Pollença”.

The Sorolla Museum has contributed 10 works that the artist produced on the island: seven paintings of Cala Sant Vicenç, a portrait of a pagan woman and two of Mallorcan houses. In addition, Es Baluard and a private collection in Madrid have left two more works by Sorolla that complete his journey around Mallorca.

This is the last stop of the project “Sorolla. Travelling to paint”, which is being carried out to commemorate the centenary of the death of Joaquín Sorolla Bastida (1863-1923), an event declared an Event of Exceptional Public Interest for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024. The aim is to take Sorolla’s works to the main places where they were executed: they have already been to San Sebastián, Toledo, Galicia, Valladolid and Seville, and the last stop is Mallorca.

Sorolla was in the Balearic Islands in the summer of 1919. This trip was of particular importance for the painter’s career, as the paintings made on this trip were Sorolla’s last view of the Mediterranean, as the following June he suffered the cardiovascular accident that kept him away from painting until the end of his life three years later. “This exhibition, therefore, represents the perfect closure to the project,” said Galmés.

This is the second request sent by the island institution since last April: if no response is received, action will be taken by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law on Historical Heritage.

The Consell de Mallorca requests the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede Alaró Castle for its urgent conservation. The vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, has informed that this is the second request made to the Spanish government since last April and assures that, should the administrative silence continue, the Consell de Mallorca will initiate the necessary actions to guarantee the conservation of the Castle of Alaró.

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The Consell de Mallorca asks the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede the Castle of Alaró for its urgent conservation

Roca explained that Alaró Castle, a state-owned Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), is in a state of deterioration that threatens its stability and the safety of visitors. This alarming deterioration in recent years affects the walls in particular.

Despite the joint efforts of the Consell de Mallorca and the Alaró Town Hall, no significant intervention has been carried out by the Ministry of Culture, the monument’s owner. Roca believes that the situation is unsustainable and that immediate intervention is necessary, which the island’s institution will carry out if the Ministry continues to neglect the monument.

The first phase of the conservation project proposed by the Consell de Mallorca would focus on the castle’s access area, with actions that include removing vegetation, repairing areas of deterioration on the walls and replacing construction mortar.

‘Alaró Castle is a symbol of our heritage, but if we do not act soon, we run the risk of losing a cultural asset of great value. We demand that the Ministry of Culture authorise us to intervene urgently and that it temporarily cede the use of the castle to us so that we can carry out these conservation works,’ said the vice-president and councillor Antònia Roca. ‘If we do not receive a response, the Consell de Mallorca will act by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law of Historical Heritage of the Balearic Islands,’ she explained.

The Consell de Mallorca has included in its request detailed technical reports, including the conservation report of July 2021 and the technical report of 2024, which show the need for immediate action to guarantee the safety of the monument.

They account for 13.8% of the total number of Social Security contributors, six-tenths of a percentage point more than last year. Since the implementation of the labour reform, 44.1% of the employment created in the last three years has been by foreign workers.

Social Security registered 2,971,811 foreign affiliates in February, after discounting seasonality and the calendar effect, after adding 15,804 employed persons. Over the last twelve months, the number of people employed from other countries has increased by 7.6%. This is a new high in seasonally adjusted foreign employment, in line with the trend that has been maintained throughout 2024.

The number of foreign affiliates increased by 15,804 employed persons in February, of which 4,204 were self-employed

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Since the implementation of the labour reform in 2022, the system has seen an increase of 604,592 workers from other countries, i.e. an increase of 26.6%. This means that 44.1% of the employment created in these last three years corresponds to foreign workers.

In the context of overall enrolment, foreign workers account for 13.8% of the total number of employed, six-tenths more than a year ago.

Average enrolment
In average terms and without seasonal adjustment, i.e. in the original series, Social Security registered 2,874,398 affiliates from other countries, 202,851 more in the last year and 31,369 more than in January.

This is the highest number of total foreign contributors to Social Security, both in the original series and seasonally adjusted for February.

Self-employed workers
With regard to the distribution by regimes, the increase in self-employed workers from other countries is worth noting. In the last month alone, there has been an increase of 4,204 foreign workers in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA).

In February, foreign workers accounted for 90% of the rate of increase in the RETA over the last year (1.1% of the 1.2% of the total). Specifically, there are 471,559 workers registered in this special regime, an increase of 8.2% in year-on-year terms, and they represent 16.4% of the total number of self-employed workers in Spain.

The increase in the number of foreign self-employed in the last year has been particularly pronounced in the Information and communications sector, which has grown by 34.5%. Also of note is Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, which has seen a 17.3% increase in the number of self-employed workers.

General Scheme
In line with the situation of native workers, 83.4% of foreign affiliates were enrolled in the General Social Security Scheme, reaching 2,398,066 workers.

In the last 12 months, foreign enrolment in this scheme has grown by around 7.5%, and in seven sectors in particular: Transport and Storage (24.9%), Water Supply (11.9%), Administrative Activities (9.7%), Health Activities (9.6%), Construction (9.4%), Manufacturing Industry (9.3%) and Accommodation (9.10%).

The year-on-year growth in foreign enrolment is also very notable in high value-added activities, with notable growth in Financial Activities (9%), Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (7.6%) and Information and Communications, which increased by 7%.

The distribution by sector in both the General Regime and the Self-Employed Workers’ Regime shows a growing diversification.

From this April, the Balearic Islands will improve the children’s vaccination schedule with the inclusion of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Until now, and since 2016, babies have been immunised against 13 serotypes in three doses. From this April, and following the authorisation of the European Medicines Agency for the use of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, the Balearic Islands will be the first Autonomous Community to include this booster vaccine in the children’s vaccination schedule.

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Health reinforces child vaccination against pneumococcus

The Director General of Public Health, Elena Esteban, explained this morning, in a presentation at the Palmanova health centre, all the details of the vaccine recently incorporated into the children’s vaccination schedule, which can achieve up to four times more protection than the previous vaccine of 13 serotypes, taking into account the circulating serotypes.

As explained by Elena Esteban, who was accompanied by the coordinator of the Primary Care vaccination centre, Verónica Vega, the immunisation of babies with the new drug will be carried out in four doses: at 2, 4 and 6 months, with a booster at 11 months.

This booster vaccine with 20 serotypes has been included in the adult population’s schedule as a single dose since last October. Vaccination against pneumococcal disease in adults is indicated for people aged between 65 and 75 years and people with risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease: transplant recipients, cancer patients, immunocompromised people, people with immunodeficiencies, cardiovascular or respiratory diseases or people institutionalised in nursing homes.

The Directorate General of Public Health of the Regional Ministry of Health has purchased 40,000 doses for the period between 31 March 2024 and 30 March 2025, with an investment of 1,961,000 euros. Of these, 25,500 doses are expected to be administered to the paediatric population, which usually achieves a vaccination coverage of 90%.

Pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are a major health problem, mainly associated with the existence of risk factors and also related to age. In Spain, in recent years, the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE) has recorded between 3,000 and 4,000 cases per year, mainly affecting children under five years of age and older people.

Vaccination is an essential tool to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease, and for this reason, the vaccine was included in the children’s schedule in 2016. In the case of older people, the vaccine was already administered to people in at-risk groups and 2018 the Public Health Commission approved universal vaccination at 65 years of age.

The Inca Town Council reaffirms its commitment to the farming sector and local farmers with the approval of a direct subsidy to the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative. In this way, the town council of the capital of Raiguer has granted a subsidy of 40,000 euros to improve the development of its work and contribute to increasing efficiency and sustainability.

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Inca Town Council and the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative signed a collaboration agreement

“This agreement is another example of the commitment of the Inca Town Council to the local agricultural sector. The Pagesa de Inca Cooperative plays a crucial role in our community and this modernisation of their facilities will allow them to continue their valuable work more efficiently,” says the Mayor of Inca, Virgilio Moreno.

The main objective of this direct subsidy is to provide economic support to the farmers of Inca, in order to promote the maintenance and growth of the sector. This aid will provide the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca with the resources necessary to equip and modernise the shop, warehouse, offices and meeting room at the headquarters of the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca.

“The main objective of this grant is to strengthen the sector and ensure its sustainable development. In this way, we support the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca, a reference entity in the town, in its work of advising and training local farmers, as well as promoting agriculture and the development of the primary sector in Inca”, explains the councillor for the Environment, Helena Cayetano.

The signing of the grant agreement for the modernisation and adaptation of the cooperative’s headquarters was presided over by the mayor of Inca, Virgilio Moreno, and the president of the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative, Tomeu Martorell. Also present at the meeting were the councillor for the Environment, Helena Cayetano, and other representatives of the cooperative.

The Balearic Islands are pioneers in the implementation of ultrasound scanners in primary care health centres

Throughout 2024, Primary Care has trained a total of 618 professionals: 424 doctors, 124 nurses, 50 physiotherapists and 20 paediatricians in the Balearic Islands in the programme for the implementation of clinical ultrasound in health centres. The Balearic Islands have also been the first autonomous community to train all resident doctors in basic clinical ultrasound in 2021.

The First Conference on Clinical Ultrasound in Primary Care (ECO-APIB) in the Balearic Islands took place today at the Hospital Comarcal de Inca. This conference aims to explore advances in ultrasound in primary care with a programme divided into different workshops with practical training in ultrasound aimed at health professionals (and residents) in medicine, paediatrics, nursing and physiotherapy in the Balearic Islands.

The conference, which is attended by over one hundred participants, features thirty workshops and eight national speakers who are experts in ultrasound. Some of the presentations focus on the usefulness of ultrasound in emergencies or in the evaluation of rheumatological diseases, among others. Clinical ultrasound has established itself as a tool of excellence and a complementary diagnostic tool. It represents an important reinforcement in the capacity to make decisions, providing added value to the quality of healthcare activity.

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Primary Care has trained more than six hundred professionals in clinical ultrasound in the Balearic Islands

Primary Care in Majorca, pioneer in the use of clinical ultrasound

Ultrasound scanners are becoming a very useful tool in health centres to achieve a better approach to diagnosis. In no case do they replace anamnesis or examination; they are an extension of the physical examination, which facilitates diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prioritised referral in practically all clinical scenarios.

The Primary Care Management of Mallorca has been a pioneer in the commitment to implement clinical ultrasound in health centres. In fact, it began in 2019 and since then has made significant progress in different aspects throughout the Balearic Islands: investment in the provision of ultrasound scanners for all health centres, investment in ongoing training in clinical ultrasound for primary care professionals (with courses, on-site workshops and eco coach), and the creation of the Balearic Islands Primary Care Clinical Ultrasound Classroom (ECO-APIB), with ultrasound stations and training spaces. The Clinical Ultrasound Technical Commission has also been created in the Technical Office of Primary Care in Mallorca.
The ECO-APIB Illes Balears classroom has seven ultrasound stations and a teaching team made up of 18 doctors, 3 paediatricians, 3 nurses and 1 physiotherapist. Training in clinical ultrasound has been expanding year after year: basic, advanced, hepatobiliary-pancreatic, thoracic and pulmonary, echocardoscopy, urology, emergency care, paediatrics, vascular, thyroid, renal, musculoskeletal, etc.