What's behind the conflict in the Palma Local Police: they want to receive a monthly supplement of 2,500 euros gross

PalmThe mayor of Palma's pet project, the Local Police, is beginning to lose patience. After failing to reach an agreement with the City Council on the new urban development plan, officers are now threatening protests. Jaime Martínez has never been one to favor the Sant Ferran police station: it was the first municipal building he visited upon taking office in June 2023, and one of his major campaign promises was to reinforce the force with 300 new officers. And, above all, its budget has increased year after year. Now, in the first months of 2026, a long-simmering conflict threatens to erupt: with the new urban development plan, the police are demanding a salary supplement of up to €31,000 per year, which would be added to their base salaries. This means receiving more than €2,500 gross per month in supplements alone. According to the union proposal, which ARA Baleares has obtained, the new organizational plan seeks a more stable, specialized, and efficient police force, with legal guarantees and improved service to the public. The proposal advocates for an orderly transition to the new model, through a transitional provision that would allow certain officers to temporarily retain their positions and working conditions (due to seniority, proximity to retirement, or family reasons), without hindering the plan's implementation. The unions are calling for a reduction in the excessive multifunctionality of the operational shift and a simplification of the organization with specialized units staffed by stable personnel and established formats, such as the UVAC (for accidents and reports), the green patrol, the complaints and reports unit, and the 092 emergency line. In addition to these units (street units, reactive units, preventive action units, etc.), there is also the operational support shift (office staff). Finally, they are calling for the elimination of the Special Assignments Unit, advocating instead that medical situations be managed through the general Social Security system or, if necessary, with reassignments outside the police organization. With this simplification, the proposal includes the harmonization of salary supplements. Currently, the unit that receives the fewest supplements receives approximately €17,000 in additional compensation (besides salary, seniority, and bonuses). The idea is to equalize all categories so that each police officer receives €31,000, regardless of their duties, according to municipal sources. Administratively, this presents a hurdle, since modifying a supplement requires doing so according to objective criteria. First, a job is analyzed, and based on the objective criteria (night shifts, hazardous work, arduous work, availability, shifts, etc.) that are met, a score is awarded, which translates into a specific monetary amount.

According to municipal sources, the complication lies in adapting a specific amount of money, 31,000 euros, to a specific, abstract supplement. That is, justifying why someone working in an office receives the same supplement as someone working in a street conflict intervention unit, for example. Therefore, the city council has hired an external company to create a guide that categorically quantifies how to increase these supplements.

Supplement for the entire City Council

On the other hand, the City Council wants to negotiate the increase in bonuses across the entire administration simultaneously. That is, the salary increase should be reflected—to the extent that it can be increased—in all areas of the local government, and not just benefit the police force.

The first disagreements between the City Council and the police unions date back to May 2024, shortly before the first year of Martínez's term, when the unions UGT, CCOO, CSIF, and SPPME organized a protest in front of City Hall. They demanded the organizational plan and the adjustment of working conditions. As a result of the mobilization, the municipal government team summoned the union representatives and agreed to negotiate its development. After a year without significant progress, marked by back-and-forth negotiations, in June 2025 the mayor personally committed to pushing through the organizational plan and set January 1st as the effective date, publicly endorsing this commitment.

This January 2026, however, after the municipal corporation failed to meet deadlines, the CSIF, SPPME, UGT, and CCOO unions announced a return to protests. This time, they will not be isolated incidents; they have announced plans to escalate the conflict. They do not rule out further demonstrations in the City Hall (Cort) or street protests. The first protest will take place on January 29 at 10:00 AM in the Plaza de Cort. The unions criticize the Civil Service department for informing them in December that, due to technical and administrative problems, the urban planning plan would not be implemented as scheduled, and for calling them to a meeting on January 7, a meeting that never took place.

Furthermore, police sources have explained to this newspaper that, despite the mayor's public displays of goodwill, the improvements for the police force have been minimal. Few new vehicles have arrived, and job openings, managed by the Balearic School of Public Administration (EBAP), an entity under the Balearic Government, are being announced only sporadically.

Agreed commitment

"Not only has the agreed-upon commitment not been fulfilled, but we are concerned that no one is doing anything and we will likely face another term in office like this. We feel like they are playing games with us and, moreover, laughing in our faces," the union organizations stated in a joint statement issued on January 12. They warned that until the plan is implemented, there will be demonstrations, a presence at the mayor's events and plenary sessions, and other actions. "This will be our way of showing that we are fed up," they emphasized. The demonstration at Cort on January 29 will be "the first of many" until the salary reorganization and adjustment plan is in place, they warned. In a turn of events, the Councilor for Finance and spokesperson for the Palma City Council, Mercedes Celeste, stated on January 14 that her intention is to finalize the reorganization plan for the police force "as quickly as possible," but that she cannot give a "specific date" for its implementation.

The mayor of Palma has the ball in his court. At the beginning of his term, his obsessions—before taking office—were graffiti, electric scooters, and squatting. Now, it seems they have more to do with resolving the urban development plan's bottleneck, a long shadow hanging over municipal management with no easy solution.