The teachers' union Alternativa Docent is calling on the Balearic Government to change its proposed system for difficult-to-fill teaching posts so that the associated salary supplement is paid to all teachers working in the affected territories, regardless of their teaching specialisation.

The union accepts that the new financial incentives respond to a genuine problem in the Balearic education system: the growing difficulty of finding teachers for certain posts and specialities.

However, it strongly rejects a model in which additional pay depends on the particular subject taught.

Alternativa Docent argues that teachers performing the same work and carrying the same responsibilities should not receive different salaries simply because they belong to different teaching specialities. The union's position is summed up in the principle of "equal work, equal pay."

The union opposes the current proposal

Alternativa Docent has criticised the latest proposal from the Conselleria d'Educació regarding supplements for difficult-to-fill posts.

The union says it accepts the need for measures capable of attracting teachers to places where vacancies are difficult to cover.

Its disagreement concerns the way the proposed financial incentive would be targeted.

Under the current approach, only teachers belonging to certain specialities classified as difficult to fill would receive the additional payment.

Alternativa Docent argues that this creates unequal treatment among teachers working in the same territory and under comparable conditions.

The union says the system creates pay differences between colleagues

One of the central objections is that teachers working in the same school or on the same island could receive different salaries depending on their speciality.

From Alternativa Docent's perspective, the financial difficulty of living and working in Ibiza, Formentera or Menorca does not disappear simply because a teacher belongs to a speciality that is not currently included on the difficult-coverage list.

The union therefore wants the supplement to be linked to the geographical conditions affecting teachers rather than only to the particular subject they teach.

It says that limiting the payment to selected specialities risks creating "comparative grievances" among professionals who have the same level of responsibility and face similar living costs.

Ibiza and Formentera face a significant teacher recruitment problem

The dispute comes against a backdrop of a substantial shortage of teaching professionals in parts of the Balearic Islands.

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the Conselleria d'Educació published 191 specialities classified as difficult to fill across the four islands.

The distribution is:

75 in Ibiza

25 in Formentera

48 in Mallorca

43 in Menorca

The Government defines a speciality as difficult to fill when its difficult-coverage index is below five available candidates per vacant post.

The figures show that Ibiza has the highest number of difficult-coverage specialities in the archipelago.

Ibiza has 75 difficult-coverage specialities

The 75 difficult-coverage specialities identified in Ibiza represent a substantial proportion of the total 191 listed across the Balearic Islands.

The classification is based on the relationship between available positions and the number of qualified candidates able to fill them.

The Government says the purpose of identifying these specialities in advance is to help ensure that vacant positions can be filled and that schools begin the academic year with adequately staffed teams.

For Alternativa Docent, however, the existence of recruitment difficulties is not an argument for differentiating salaries between teachers.

The union instead wants the financial incentive expanded to cover the teaching workforce more broadly.

Formentera has 25 difficult-coverage specialities

Formentera has also been significantly affected by the teacher recruitment problem.

The Government has classified 25 specialities on the island as difficult to fill for the 2026-2027 school year.

Formentera presents particular logistical and housing challenges for professionals who need to relocate to the island.

The current system already distinguishes between difficult and very difficult posts on Formentera, with the highest supplement applying to positions classified as very difficult to fill.

Alternativa Docent wants the broader salary question to be addressed without dividing teachers according to their particular teaching speciality.

How the difficult-coverage supplement works in 2026-2027

The Balearic Government confirmed in July that the financial supplements associated with difficult-coverage posts would increase for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Teachers assigned to difficult-coverage posts in Ibiza are due to receive €300 per month.

That represents an increase of €100 compared with the previous academic year.

In Menorca, teachers occupying difficult-coverage posts are due to receive €200 per month, also an increase of €100.

Formentera is treated differently because teachers occupying posts classified as very difficult to fill retain a €400 monthly supplement.

The Government's current framework therefore links the amount of the additional payment to the island and to whether the post is classified as difficult or very difficult to fill.

Why Alternativa Docent wants universal payment

Alternativa Docent argues that geographical conditions affect teachers irrespective of their speciality.

The union says the housing crisis, cost of living and difficulties associated with working on the islands affect teachers across the education system.

From its perspective, selecting only particular specialities means that two colleagues working in the same location can be treated differently even though they face essentially the same cost-of-living and relocation challenges.

The union is therefore demanding that the supplement apply to the entire teaching workforce rather than being restricted to selected subjects or professional groups.

"Equal work, equal pay"

The union's central argument is based on what it describes as a basic labour and constitutional principle: equal work should receive equal pay.

Alternativa Docent argues that the proposed system risks creating a form of internal salary differentiation based on market demand for particular specialities.

In its view, salaries in public education should not become increasingly dependent on supply and demand.

The union warns that this could introduce market mechanisms into an area where teachers' pay should instead be determined by their professional role and working conditions.

The union warns against introducing market logic into education

Alternativa Docent says it is concerned that the proposed model could make public-sector salaries increasingly dependent on recruitment difficulties.

The union's argument is that a shortage of candidates in a particular subject should not automatically justify paying some teachers more than colleagues working under the same geographical conditions.

It believes that a more sustainable solution would be to improve the overall attractiveness of the teaching profession.

That includes a broader improvement in pay and career progression rather than relying on targeted bonuses.

Mallorca is at the centre of another criticism

Alternativa Docent has also raised what it calls a territorial inconsistency in the current system.

The union claims that teachers in Mallorca who belong to specialities formally classified as difficult to fill are not currently receiving an additional payment, despite meeting the criteria associated with the classification.

The union describes this as an "alarming" lack of consistency between the different islands.

This is a claim made by the union and should not be confused with the Government's official classification of difficult-coverage specialities.

The Government's published 2026-2027 list confirms that Mallorca has 48 specialities classified as difficult to fill.

The official criteria are based on candidate availability

The Government's classification has a specific technical definition.

The difficult-coverage index measures the relationship between available vacancies, the required working conditions and island, and the number of admitted and available candidates who can fill those positions.

A speciality is classified as difficult to fill when there are fewer than five eligible candidates per available post.

The classification is therefore not based simply on a general judgment that a particular profession is unpopular.

It is calculated from the availability of candidates in relation to vacancies.

The Government says the system is designed to fill vacancies

The Conselleria d'Educació says identifying difficult-to-fill specialities allows it to take measures before the academic year starts.

The objective is to improve the chances that vacancies can be filled and that schools have adequately staffed teaching teams.

The salary supplements are one of those measures.

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the higher payments in Ibiza and Menorca are intended to make these posts more attractive to potential applicants.

Alternativa Docent agrees that teacher recruitment is a serious problem but believes the response should be applied more broadly.

The housing problem is a major part of the dispute

Housing is an underlying issue in the debate over teacher recruitment in Ibiza and Formentera.

Teachers moving to the islands can face particularly high accommodation costs and limited availability, especially during the tourism season.

For unions, this is one reason why targeted salary payments may not fully solve the underlying problem.

Alternativa Docent argues that the Government should address the structural conditions affecting the teaching profession, including overall remuneration and career development.

It wants the authorities to negotiate a more comprehensive salary agreement.

The union is asking for universal salary improvements

Alternativa Docent is not simply asking for a change to the difficult-coverage list.

It wants the Balearic Government to negotiate a wider salary improvement for the teaching profession.

The union says this should provide better pay across the system and bring teachers' career progression more closely into line with other public-sector employees.

It also argues that broader improvements would make teaching a more attractive career and help address the underlying shortage of professionals.

The current system is legally based on island and speciality criteria

The framework governing difficult and very difficult teaching posts allows the Balearic Government to determine which posts qualify each academic year.

Under the Balearic Education Law, the Government can identify difficult and very difficult positions in Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera based on geographical location, teaching speciality and other criteria it establishes.

The law also allows the Government to set or modify the amount of the associated salary supplement.

That means the system is legally designed to take both geographical circumstances and individual specialities into consideration.

Alternativa Docent's demand is therefore for a change in how that discretion is applied, rather than an argument that the Government has no legal mechanism to create the system.

191 specialities show the scale of the recruitment issue

The total of 191 difficult-coverage specialities for 2026-2027 is a significant increase in the visibility of teacher recruitment difficulties across the Balearics.

The Government has presented the classification as a tool for identifying where schools face the greatest problems finding candidates.

Ibiza accounts for 75 of those 191 specialities, or around 39% of the total.

Formentera accounts for another 25, meaning the two Pityusic Islands together represent 100 difficult-coverage specialities.

That is more than half of the Balearic total.

The Pityusic Islands face particularly strong recruitment pressure

Taken together, Ibiza and Formentera account for 100 of the 191 specialities classified as difficult to fill.

That means the two islands account for approximately 52.4% of the entire Balearic total.

The concentration is notable because the Pityusic Islands have smaller education systems than Mallorca and therefore face the added challenge of attracting professionals to relatively small labour markets.

Housing costs and geographic isolation can also make recruitment more complicated for teachers considering relocation.

Formentera's €400 supplement applies to very difficult posts

Formentera has a special classification for posts considered "very difficult to fill."

Teachers occupying these positions receive a €400 monthly supplement during the 2026-2027 academic year.

This amount is higher than the €300 difficult-coverage supplement applying to eligible teachers in Ibiza.

The difference reflects the Government's policy of recognising different degrees of recruitment difficulty.

However, Alternativa Docent's argument remains that the distinction should not determine which teachers receive additional remuneration within the same geographical setting.

Previous agreements created the island supplements

The difficult-coverage supplements are the result of agreements reached by the Balearic Government with teacher unions.

The system was introduced progressively.

For the 2025-2026 academic year, teachers in difficult-coverage posts in Ibiza were due to receive €200 per month, while those in Menorca received €100.

The amounts were then increased by €100 for 2026-2027.

For very difficult posts in Formentera, the supplement reached €400 per month.

Alternativa Docent is now challenging the way those payments are targeted rather than rejecting the existence of additional compensation for difficult locations altogether.

The union wants negotiations reopened

Alternativa Docent is calling on the Conselleria d'Educació to revise its draft before the system is fully implemented.

Its proposal is to extend the salary supplements to the entire teaching workforce without distinctions based on speciality or teaching body.

The union also wants negotiations over a broader salary package.

Its argument is that this would help improve the status of teachers as a profession while addressing the structural shortage of personnel across the islands.

The Government faces a difficult balance

The education authorities are attempting to solve two problems simultaneously.

They need to fill specific vacancies where the supply of qualified candidates is insufficient.

At the same time, they need to maintain a coherent and sustainable salary structure for the teaching profession.

Targeted bonuses can be a relatively direct way of making difficult posts more attractive.

However, as Alternativa Docent argues, they can also create salary differences between colleagues.

The debate therefore concerns both recruitment effectiveness and the principle of how teachers should be remunerated.

The disagreement comes as the new school year begins

The timing of the dispute is significant.

The 2026-2027 academic year has just begun, and the Government has already published its difficult-coverage classifications.

The education system now has to fill the positions identified as particularly difficult while ensuring that schools have adequate staffing.

For Ibiza and Formentera, where 100 specialities are classified as difficult to fill, the issue is particularly relevant.

The effectiveness of the new financial incentives will become clearer as the academic year progresses.

What Alternativa Docent wants

The union's demands can be summarised in several areas.

It wants the difficult-coverage supplement extended to all teachers without distinctions based on speciality.

It wants equal pay for teachers carrying out comparable work in the same territory.

It wants the Government to negotiate a wider salary improvement for the profession.

It wants teachers' career progression to be brought closer into line with that of other public-sector employees.

It wants a structural solution to the shortage of teaching staff rather than relying solely on targeted incentives.

What the Government's current system does

The Balearic Government's current framework:

Identifies difficult-to-fill specialities each academic year.

Uses a candidate-to-vacancy ratio to determine the difficult-coverage classification.

Applies different supplements depending on the island and classification.

Pays €300 per month to eligible difficult-coverage teachers in Ibiza for 2026-2027.

Pays €200 per month to eligible difficult-coverage teachers in Menorca.

Pays €400 per month to teachers in very difficult-coverage posts in Formentera.

Includes 75 difficult-coverage specialities in Ibiza, 25 in Formentera, 48 in Mallorca and 43 in Menorca for 2026-2027.

The Government says the purpose is to improve the coverage of teaching vacancies and ensure schools begin the academic year with adequate staffing.

The central argument is about fairness

At the heart of the dispute is a question of fairness.

The Government's model treats recruitment difficulty in particular specialities as a reason for additional pay.

Alternativa Docent argues that the geographical difficulty of working on certain islands applies more broadly and should therefore be reflected in the salaries of all teachers working there.

Both positions start from the same basic problem: some teaching vacancies are difficult to fill.

They differ over whether the solution should be targeted at particular specialities or applied more widely.

What happens next?

Alternativa Docent is asking the Conselleria d'Educació to revise the current proposal and return to negotiations.

The Government has already established the difficult-coverage classifications and increased the associated supplements for 2026-2027.

The next stage of the dispute will therefore depend on whether the Conselleria is willing to modify the model or maintain the current speciality-based system.

Meanwhile, schools in Ibiza and Formentera will continue working with the recruitment challenges identified in the 2026-2027 classifications.

With 100 difficult-coverage specialities between the two islands, the outcome of the debate could have a meaningful effect on how the education system attempts to attract and retain teachers.

A wider debate over teacher shortages in Ibiza and Formentera

The dispute over the difficult-coverage supplement is ultimately part of a larger challenge facing education in the Balearic Islands.

Ibiza and Formentera have some of the highest concentrations of difficult-to-fill teaching specialities in the region.

The Government is responding with targeted financial incentives.

Alternativa Docent believes that those incentives should not divide teachers according to the subjects they teach and instead wants broader salary improvements.

The debate will continue as the new academic year gets underway.

For the Government, the priority is filling vacancies in the areas where recruitment is most difficult.

For Alternativa Docent, the priority is ensuring that the solution does not create unequal treatment among teachers and addressing the wider conditions that make the profession difficult to recruit for in the first place.

Key Facts

Union: Alternativa Docent

Main demand: Apply the difficult-coverage supplement to all teachers without distinctions based on speciality or teaching body

2026-2027 difficult-coverage specialities: 191 across the Balearic Islands

Ibiza: 75

Formentera: 25

Mallorca: 48

Menorca: 43

Difficult-coverage criterion: Fewer than five available candidates per vacancy

Ibiza difficult-coverage supplement for 2026-2027: €300 per month

Menorca difficult-coverage supplement: €200 per month

Formentera very difficult-coverage supplement: €400 per month

Main union argument: "Equal work, equal pay"

Union's wider demand: A general salary improvement and stronger career progression for teachers

Main issue behind the recruitment shortage: Difficulty filling certain teaching vacancies, particularly in Ibiza and Formentera