Catalan teachers return to strike after rejecting the pre-agreement with the Government

Catalan teachers return to the streets this Friday to gauge their strength after the strong rejection of the pre-agreement signed last Friday between the Government and majority unions. The protests are centered in Barcelona, where three marches will depart from 10 AM (Sant Adrià del Besòs, Plaça d’Espanya, and Zona Franca) to converge at 12 PM at Arc de Triomf, from where the demonstration will head towards the Parliament. At the same point, but an hour and a half earlier, private schools will demonstrate on their own. Previously, after 8 AM, a group of teachers entered the building of the Territorial Services of Education of Barcelonès located on the Zona Franca promenade in Barcelona for a few minutes.

Read more Bodies of a man and a woman found shot dead in Malaga

This Friday’s general education strike – affecting public, private, teachers, staff, educational support, and educational leisure – concludes the four weeks of stoppages that have taken place during May and June. However, the unions have already announced that protests will continue for the remaining two weeks of the school year, with actions during the Pope’s visit, among others. This Friday’s strike is called by CGT and Intersindical, who oppose the pre-agreement, but Ustec – the majority union – joined yesterday after the teachers’ consultation rejected it. For its part, Usoc calls for the private sector.

The results of the consultation released this Thursday revealed that 65% of participating teachers voted negatively on the pre-agreement. Of the 99,000 teachers on the census, 60,686 (61%) voted, of whom 39,502 opted for no (65% of voters), and 21,184 for yes. The survey was promoted by Ustec, CGT, and Intersindical – the first asked for support, while the other two unions campaigned against it – while Secondary Teachers conducted a survey among its members, where yes won with 63% support. This union, the second with the most representation, assured that it would sign the pact, and the Government assured yesterday that it would push it forward without Ustec.

The pre-agreement implies a salary increase of 400 euros over four years, incorporating 6400 professionals in the same period, calling for 5,000 professorships in the next two years, or recovering the six-year bonus debt in five years. But teachers consider it insufficient, especially regarding inclusive education provisions, which they demand to be higher and, especially, to arrive sooner.

Read more Artificial intelligence sneaks onto the poster for the classical performing arts festival in Alcalá de Henares