When working isn't enough to live with dignity: "I've gotten used to precariousness"

PalmDiego is 34 years old and works as a photographer. He earns around €1,300 in 12 payments and, after eight years with the company, is still on an assistant contract. "I've gotten used to precariousness," he says. His salary allows him to cover his bills, but it doesn't leave him any room for error. Any unexpected expense—a special assessment, a repair, or equipment failure—forces him to take out a loan or ask his mother for help. It's not a temporary situation, but a stable way of life.

According to the latest CCOO report, in the Balearic Islands, a person needs €2,260 gross per month in 14 payments (€31,640 annually) to live a decent life. This is the Balearic benchmark salary: a figure that doesn't define the poverty line, but rather the minimum income necessary to cover basic needs and sustain a basic social and cultural life. The gap between this salary and what thousands of workers earn explains why having a job no longer guarantees independence. "The idea of ​​a dignified life is that your salary should be enough to cover all your basic needs," explains Maria Àngels Aguiló, Secretary of Economic Model, Employment, and Transitions at the CCOO union. The study is based on a basket of goods and services compiled from the INE's Household Budget Survey, real estate market prices, and specific consumption data for the Balearic Islands. "We're not talking about households, but rather consumption units. This is what a worker should earn," she clarifies. The report identifies housing as the largest expense, followed by transportation and food. In the Balearic Islands, almost half of all households struggle to make ends meet, and those who rent spend up to 63% of their gross salary on housing. The average salary in 2023 was €23,126 per year, below the national average, and more than 200,000 people reported incomes below €15,120.

Insularity accentuates this imbalance. The cost of living is not uniform, and the report reflects this: the necessary monthly salary is €2,166 in Mallorca; €1,947 in Menorca; and nearly €3,000 in Ibiza and Formentera. "The cost of groceries, transportation, or rent is not the same on one island as on another," notes Aguiló, who emphasizes the added difficulty of living in territories where almost everything comes from elsewhere.

Diego falls well below this threshold. He became independent at 27, when he earned €700 and paid €300 for a room. Years later, his mother gave him €50,000 for a down payment on a three-bedroom apartment in Palma. Currently, he pays around €600 for his mortgage, in addition to community fees, utilities, and special assessments that strain his already tight household budget. "If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't be able to keep this job," she admits. To make ends meet, she rents two rooms to a friend—one as an office—for 400 euros, a price significantly below market rate. This income covers basic expenses, leaving her with about 500 euros for food, gas, and unexpected costs. The margin is minimal. "I can't spend 50 euros on a night out," she says. She has spaced out her sessions with her psychologist and has limited herself to buying, at most, one book per month. When an unexpected expense arises, she weighs her options. "If my camera broke, for example, I would probably have to take out a loan because it's my work tool." Tourism and Seasonality

The CCOO report links precarious employment to a structural problem. The Balearic Islands maintain a production model based on labor-intensive, low value-added activities, heavily dependent on tourism and marked by seasonality. "Jobs are lower-skilled and wages are lower," summarizes Aguiló. Although employment is at record highs and tourism is registering record figures, the increase in corporate profits is not translating into a corresponding increase in wages, while the cost of living continues to rise. In fact, to cope with this, wages should have grown by 14% this year, that is, 7.75 percentage points more than the actual average increase in the Balearic Islands. The result of this gap is a progressive deterioration of living conditions: multiple jobs, workers living in caravans, young people leaving for the mainland when they find work and cheaper housing. "This model is driving workers out," warns the union representative. The lack of personnel, he adds, ends up affecting companies and those who remain, who take on an increasing workload.

For CCOO, collective bargaining has allowed for salary increases, but they don't compensate for the situation. "It's not enough if there aren't public policies to help alleviate the areas that eat away at salaries," Aguiló maintains. The union is calling for intervention in the rental market, the declaration of high-demand areas, and addressing the housing emergency. "A living wage must be accompanied by decent living conditions," he insists.

Diego is aware that his situation isn't the most extreme. "We're privileged because I have a place to live," he says. He owns a home, although he pays for it by carefully managing every expense. His stability depends on fragile balances and family support that not everyone has. "I don't know what would have become of me without my mother," he admits. He works, he fulfills his obligations, and he perseveres, while the gap between his salary and the cost of living in the Balearic Islands turns this perseverance into routine.