The government yesterday held a meeting to discuss ways of dealing with illegal street selling in the Balearics. It was the first of its type in that it brought together the employment, trade and industry ministry and representatives of retailers' associations, the town halls' federation and certain town halls themselves. Missing from the meeting, however, was anyone from the national government's delegation.
The minister Iago Negueruela criticised this absence as did the president of Pimem, Jordi Mora, who said that it was "inconceivable" that the delegation was not represented. Negueruela insisted that there has to be coordination between all public bodies in tackling illegal selling. There could be "no shirking of responsibilities". He hoped that Maria Salom, the government's delegate, would attend the next meeting. Her input is particularly important because the National Police come under the state's authority as also do the administrations for foreigners, tax and labour inspection when it comes to "irregular" situations involving foreigners.
The meeting addressed the issue in three ways: the social angle, as the sellers belong to "mafias" and have no labour rights; policing; and awareness-raising. There are to be campaigns to tell tourists that this is illegal trading and that they shouldn't be buying from street sellers. It was decided that fining purchasers would not be appropriate.
Rafael Ballester of Afedeco believed that it was impossible to eliminate the problem completely but that "we should try to make it as small as possible". Angelica Pastor, Palma's councillor for public safety, said that all tourist municipalities should be working along the same lines. "It is a problem for everyone."
Bernat Coll of Pimeco acknowledged that the minister was showing political will in addressing the issue, but he added that it is "a hot potato that is passed from one administration to another". He was also critical of the government delegation's non-attendance, while he added that the problem of illegal selling didn't seem to be a priority for Palma town hall, while it is for other municipalities.