The price of freight transport is on the verge of a generalized increase in the Balearic Islands following a ruling by the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) that obliges companies to pay as presence hours the time truck drivers spend on the ferry accompanying their vehicles.
The transport sector is already analyzing the economic impact of the resolution and assumes that the cost increase will be passed on to customers.
The sentence, advanced by Diario de Mallorca, condemns for the first time in the Balearic Islands a transport company to pay 3,720 euros plus interest to a driver for the hours he remained on board during maritime journeys between Mallorca and the mainland, considering that this time cannot be counted as rest but as presence time.
The ruling, issued on October 2 and final since November 7 as it has not been appealed, revokes the decision of a Palma court that had ruled in favor of the company and is based on the doctrine of the Supreme Court, which in January 2024 resolved a similar case in Valencia, according to the Mallorcan newspaper.
The industry analyzes the impact and expects a freight increase
Industry sources have confirmed to La Voz de Ibiza that there is currently no homogeneous criterion in the transport companies: some pay the ferry hours to the drivers in full, others do not pay them, and others only pay a part.
The generalization of this judicial criterion will force many companies to assume a new structural cost.
In this context, the Balearic Transport Business Federation (FEBT) has called a meeting on Monday 29th to analyze the scope of the ruling, its possible domino effect and the economic impact it will have on inter-island and mainland transport.
Hours of presence, not rest
The case that has given rise to the sentence corresponds to a truck driver who worked between January 2020 and December 2021 for a transport company in the Part Forana of Mallorca and who regularly made ferry trips between Mallorca, Valencia and Barcelona. Although the company provided him with a ticket and cabin, it refused to pay him for the hours he was on board, considering them as rest time.
However, the TSJIB concludes that the state road transport agreement is clear in establishing that the periods in which the worker accompanies the vehicle on the ferry must be considered presence time, provided that the duration of the journey is known in advance. According to the ruling, during the crossing the driver could not freely dispose of his time, since he had to remain available for any incident, as the Prensa Ibérica newspaper emphasizes.
The court expressly assumes the doctrine of the Supreme Court and recognizes that its own previous criterion has been superseded. In addition, it recalls that the agreement distinguishes between actual working time, rest and presence time, the latter fitting in the case of maritime journeys.
A precedent with economic effects
The sentence condemns the company to pay 310 hours of presence, plus 10% interest for late payment, although it rules out other claims such as overtime or per diems. Although the ruling refers to a single worker, there are other similar proceedings underway in the Balearic Islands, which reinforces the feeling that the judicial criterion will mark a before and after in the transport of goods between the islands and the mainland.
The recognition of this labor right represents a significant change in a common practice in the sector, with direct consequences on business costs and, foreseeably, on the final price of transport.
