The PP and Vox open the door to not comply with the Law of Linguistic Normalization through the omnibus law
The norm exempts teachers from having to prove knowledge of Catalan in very difficult to fill positions
PalmaThe PP has insisted throughout the entire legislature that, no matter how much Vox asks for it, they will not touch the Law of Linguistic Normalization. But the truth is that the omnibus law being debated in this Tuesday's plenary session and which will foreseeably be approved with the votes of the popular party and the far-right does affect an article of this law: specifically, 23.2. Although government sources insist that not a single comma of the rule will be modified on paper, both MÉS per Mallorca and the OCB warn that once the omnibus law comes into force, it can be breached.
The agreement between the PP and Vox to exempt teachers from presenting the Catalan requirement in places of very difficult coverage contrasts with this article, which states that "teachers who teach within the scope of the Balearic Islands must possess the oral and written command of the two official languages necessary in each case for the educational and teaching functions they must perform". This is denounced by the president of Obra Cultural Balear (OCB) and jurist Toni Llabrés, who warns that the change could also contravene article 23.4 of the Law, which establishes that "the autonomous administration must ensure that in the regulation of access for teaching staff to the teaching profession, the appropriate system is established so that all newly hired teachers possess the linguistic competencies" in the two official languages, although this is less clear due to the wording of the second article.
The PP and Vox have also agreed on a second amendment to exempt students who are passing through the Islands from being assessed in Catalan, which could also contradict the law, which already provided for exemptions in some cases, but established a maximum period of three years of residence in the Islands for the student to be able to benefit from it.
The spokesperson for MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, has lashed out at the president Marga Prohens for these changes. "One of the mantras of the president of the PP has been that her red line is the Law of Linguistic Normalization, and tomorrow some articles will be repealed, and others will be cut short," he lamented.
The PP denies it
On the other hand, the PP spokesperson, Sebastià Sagreras, has denied that the Normalization Law is affected. "It has been and is a red line for the PP, which we have maintained firmly during this legislature, even at those times when we were negotiating very important housing policies, or the community's budgets for the whole year," he said. In this regard, he accused MÉS per Mallorca of "staying in their corner criticizing certain measures that, in practice, they carried out for years on end". Although in the previous legislature interim teachers were accepted without the Catalan requirement, this is the first time they can obtain a civil servant position if they do so from these very hard-to-fill positions.