The Generalitat’s Education Counselor, Esther Niubó, warned this Monday that a possible “no” to the agreement reached on Friday between the Department and some teaching unions —Ustec and Professors of Secondary Education— would result in losing the agreed labor improvements, such as the increase in salaries, and would lead “to a scenario of chaos and absolute weakening of the educational system.” According to Education, at one o’clock in the afternoon, the strike called by two unions had a 9.17% participation rate. In Girona, about 500 teachers gathered in front of the Generalitat building headquarters in the city to discuss the Friday pre-agreement in working groups. In Central Catalonia, about 200 expressed disagreement with the pre-agreement because, they say, it does not solve the shortcomings of the current educational system and they walked up from the town of Monistrol to Montserrat. They all agree on specifics, details of the agreement: “How it will affect each center on September 1, when the next school year begins.”
Read more A man in Canada pleads guilty to helping 14 people commit suicide
After the Sunday demonstration in Girona, about forty people spent the night in front of the Generalitat headquarters, camping in about fifteen tents. Early in the morning, teachers from all the counties of the district joined them, called by the Coordinator of Educational Assemblies. In total, nearly five hundred debated this start of the week the pre-agreement that the Department of Education closed last Friday with some unions. The Coordinator of Assemblies, which makes clear that their presence on the street shows that “the claim was not only for a decent salary,” demands specifics in the measures. “How will the pre-agreement be noticed in each center, how many teachers will there be, what will be the reduction of ratios?” asks Pau Pagès, spokesperson for the Coordinator.
For Pagès, “a very dangerous thing is happening: that both the Department and the unions are underestimating the power that the assemblies have.” “At this moment, it is being discussed in the working groups how the ratios in the pre-agreement are specified, linguistic immersion, the defense of public education, the infrastructure of the centers, air conditioning, the defense of Catalan,” he explains. “These are things we experience daily in the classroom and want to continue defending beyond this agreement,” he emphasizes. As a teacher and person who lives the reality in the classrooms, Pagès responded to Niubó: “The chaos is what we have been living for years.”
In Central Catalonia, some schools and institutes have operated with minimum services. About 200 teachers gathered in Monistrol and walked up to Montserrat, where many of them opposed the agreement because, they understand, “there is a lack of specifics.” “Dates and deadlines must be set, and if these are not met, someone must resign,” said Pablo Navarro. They have shown willingness to maintain the strike they have been holding for weeks. They also held an assembly at the monastery.
Read more Chess Videos | The Emigrant Gulko Delivers His Queen in the Long Term
The salary increases agreed last Friday would represent an investment of 726 million euros, which would be added to the 2,000 million already agreed with CCOO and UGT last March. However, teachers made clear this Monday that their demands go far beyond salaries and “are to improve the day-to-day problems in the classrooms.”
From this Monday until Thursday at noon, all teachers in public centers in Catalonia, about 90,000, can vote whether to ratify the pre-agreement closed on Friday. If the result is no, Ustec has announced it will opt for an indefinite strike and Professors of Secondary Education will respect what their members vote. Pagès, who recalls they are not linked to any union, believes it is essential to maintain organization and mobilization, although he points out: “We do not see the indefinite strike as the only possible proposal.”
Read more Iván Cepeda: “There are no irregularities of sufficient dimensions to talk about fraud”
