Balearic nursery teachers set a general strike for 6 October

Today's essentials (3 key points)

• Ciutadella will vote on Monday to double its household waste charge, leaving an average flat paying 103 euros a year, according to Menorca (Es Diari).
• Several crashes snarled Spanish roads on the first afternoon of the summer 'operación retorno', with 6.9 million trips forecast, report Diario de Mallorca and Diario de Ibiza.
• The municipal summer schools of Sant Josep de sa Talaia hosted more than 600 children this season, the town's Youth Department told Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera.

Today's essentials

Balearic nursery teachers set a general strike for 6 October. Staff in the Balearic Islands' public 0-3 nurseries (escoletes) have announced a month of protests starting 9 September and building to a full sector general strike on 6 October 2026, according to Menorca.info and dbalears.cat.

The calendar runs through the whole of September. The Xarxa 0-3 network, which brings together the CCOO, UGT and STEI unions, opens with a rally outside the Balearic Parliament on 9 September, dbalears.cat reports. On 10 September, the official first day of the school year, simultaneous gatherings are planned in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. Menorca.info adds that occupations and closures (tancades) will follow on 18 September in more than 25 centres across the four islands, ahead of a sector march on 25 September that unions say is meant to 'paralyse the islands', before the general strike on 6 October.

At the heart of the dispute is a demand for a stand-alone collective agreement for the 0-3 sector. The unions want an end to what they call unfair gaps in pay and working conditions between staff doing the same job, and action on the loss of purchasing power hitting educators, Menorca.info reports. According to dbalears.cat, they accuse the regional government and employers of offering 'speeches', 'promises' and 'good intentions' that never translate into concrete change.

This is not a first flare-up. A June 2026 mobilisation drew 90 percent participation across the sector, and a strike called for 2 June was thrown out by the regional government's labour department (Conselleria de Treball) on a technicality over how it was convened, Menorca.info notes. In late July, nursery workers broke with a deal reached in the subsidised part of the sector and announced a return to strike action. The Govern approved salary-rebalancing measures over the summer, which the unions dismiss as insufficient and still unequal.

What this means for you: if your child attends a public escoleta in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza or Formentera, expect disruption on named dates rather than a single closed day, above all around the 10 September start of term, the 18 September closures and the 6 October general strike. Line up backup childcare now for those dates, and watch for notices from your specific centre, since the source material confirms more than 25 centres are involved without naming each one. The next confirmed flashpoint is the 9 September rally at the Balearic Parliament, according to dbalears.cat.

Weather today

Weather today across the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands stay overcast today with highs between 26 and 29 degrees and wind up to 16 km/h, according to Open-Meteo.

Transport & traffic

• 6.9 million trips as the summer 'operación retorno' begins. Diario de Mallorca and Diario de Ibiza report that several crashes complicated traffic on Spanish roads on Friday afternoon as the summer 'operación retorno' opened, with 6.9 million journeys expected. For island residents the direct road impact is limited, but the return wave matters if you are driving on the mainland or connecting through it: the same peak that clogs motorways also feeds packed flights and ferries into Palma, Maó and Eivissa. If you are travelling in the coming days, leave a wider margin at the airport and check your carrier before setting off.
• Jesús pedestrianises 100 metres of its main road on a trial. Santa Eulària has launched a pilot part-pedestrianisation of the centre of Jesús, on Ibiza, covering around 100 metres of the EI-100A that runs through the village, according to Diario de Ibiza. The trial, backed by the town hall, starts on a Friday and lands amid open doubts from shopkeepers and residents about how it will affect access and parking. If you drive through Jesús, expect a changed layout on that stretch of the EI-100A while the pilot runs, and plan an alternative route through the núcleo until the scheme is assessed.

What's changing for you

• Ciutadella waste tax to double: 103 euros for an average flat. Menorca (Es Diari) reports that Ciutadella votes on Monday on a new waste-collection charge that replaces the 2021 tax and will leave an average flat paying 103 euros a year, letting the council raise more than 4 million euros annually. If you own or rent a home in Ciutadella, budget for the higher bill from the moment the ordinance takes effect, since the new charge roughly doubles what the council currently collects for the service. The exact amount depends on your property, with the 103-euro figure given as the average for a flat, so check your own band once the town hall publishes the approved rates after Monday's vote.

Local news to know

• Three Britons held over two drug-selling flats in Sant Antoni. The Guardia Civil has arrested three British nationals, two men and a woman, in Sant Antoni de Portmany on Ibiza, dismantling two flats used to sell a range of drugs to tourists in an operation named 'Corsair Bal', Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera reports.
• Green-level heat advisory for inland Mallorca. Meteoalarm has issued a green-level advisory for maximum temperatures over the interior of Mallorca, the lowest rung on the scale and a routine heads-up rather than a formal warning.
• Green-level wind notices, but only in the Canary Islands. Meteoalarm's green-level wind advisories today cover Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, that is the Canary Islands and not the Balearics.
• Universitat de Mallorca readies 19 new degrees and masters. The Universitat de Mallorca (UMAC-ADEMA) is processing 19 new bachelor's and master's programmes that could roll out progressively from the 2027-28 academic year, according to Ultima Hora and Menorca (Es Diari).

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow