The colony houses in Catalonia warn of a critical situation after the collapse of school bookings for the next academic year. The sector estimates the drop at more than 54% after more than 670 schools and high schools have joined the teaching protest to stop organizing these outings while the labor conflict with the Departament d"Educació is not resolved.
The alert is launched by the employers' associations of educational leisure and of the colonies' own houses, which maintain that the impact is already being felt throughout the territory. 50% of the school camps planned for the next course is at risk, according to Pep Montes, manager of ACELLEC, who also warns of possible closures and of files that could end with workers unemployed.
The sector fears closures and job loss
The economic and labor impact especially worries companies and facilities that largely depend on the school campaign. ACELLEC provides service to about 2,500 centers and around 150,000 children who participate in school camps, with a turnover of about 15 million euros.
Montes places the potential impact at around 5,000 workers in the sector as a whole, with more than 1,000 linked to the ACELLEC sphere. From ACCAC they explain that for weeks now schools and institutes no longer receive calls or show interest, and they warn that many summer camps could be forced to close if the situation does not change.
Werner Estellé, vice president of the ACCAC, maintains that the educational centers convey to them that they will not make reservations until the open labor conflicts with Educació are resolved. In parallel, ACELLEC points out that some centers only maintain informal contacts to keep some verbal reservation, but without a firm commitment.
September, key date to avoid a scenario of extreme gravity
The two entities demand dialogue to unblock the conflict and ask not to be used as bargaining chips. They also demand the Govern to incorporate the "colonies" into the educational system and defend that these stays should not be considered a complementary or end-of-course activity, but an structural part of the pedagogical project.
Estellé insists that, if the houses cannot run school camps, neither will they be able to reopen the following summer. In their judgment, the problem would not be limited to a single season, because the decisions that are taken now can have irreversible effects on the continuity of these facilities.
The sector sets September as the limit month. It is the last barrier before the start of the school year. If by then the fall in reservations has not been reversed, employers foresee a context of extreme gravity, with more closures and a direct impact on employment, activity and non-formal educational offer throughout Cataluña.
Educació approves economic improvements for teachers
Amidst the conflict, the Govern approved on Tuesday an increase in the specific salary supplement for teaching staff and new compensations for overnight stays. The measure includes 839 euros for primary school teachers and 858 for secondary school teachers.
Also, compensations of 50 euros per night have been approved for teachers and educational care staff participating in outings and camps. These amounts will be collected starting from the 2026-2027 academic year. Despite this, the discomfort remains open and reservations for the next academic year continue to be halted, with the sector awaiting whether negotiations resume in the coming weeks and it is avoided that the school campaign is severely affected.