Isha Sesay
THE Government of the Balearic Islands has agreed to increase aid for the self-employed in Mallorca whose work has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
An agreement to extend the extraordinary benefit for autonomous workers was reached after discussions with the Consell de Mallorca.
The pot of €11.4 million will be topped up with a further €8 million and is expected to benefit an additional 4,000 people.
The economic package, which aims to support these professionals in a ‘new normality,’ was introduced to stimulate economic recovery and curb unemployment.
During the meeting, the Consell de Mallorca President Catalina Cladera spoke of the importance to protect ‘the business fabric of the island’ during one of the most challenging moments.
She said: “We are pleased that our contribution will allow us to help even more self-employed workers in Mallorca which has been achieved through the collaboration and effort of public institutions.”
Cladera assured that this financial aid will have a ‘direct impact on activity in a sector’ which has been ‘particularly affected by the pandemic.’
Who can benefit?
There are two types of self-employed workers eligible for the funds.
The first are those who work all year round and are able to justify that they have been registered with the Social Security office in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) during the state of alarm.
The second are seasonal self-employed workers who have been unable to start their activity due to the COVID-19 crisis.
How much will each self-employed worker receive?
The sum granted will vary according to the number of individuals that an autonomous worker employs.
Those without employees will receive €2,000, those with up to two workers will receive €2,500, and those with more than two will be given €3,000.
It comes as more than 185,000 autonomous workers across the country joined a political initiative to defend and protect the interests of the self-employed.
Triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the A.P.E group (Autonomos, Pymes y Enprenedores) was created to denounce the ‘lack of protection and support from the government.’
Although a €200 billion package to aid the self-employed, employers and laid-off workers through the coronavirus crisis was introduced in March, members of the A.P.E claimed that the scheme was unfair to both business owners and staff.
