The USTEC has demanded that ERC and En Comú Podem make the 2026 Generalitat de Catalunya budgets conditional on the demands of the teaching staff, in the midst of negotiations to try to call off the education strike. The union also asks for the direct involvement of the president, Salvador Illa, in talks that remain without agreement.
The pressure comes after a new postponement by the Departament d'Educació. On Friday night, it announced that the sectoral table meeting scheduled for Tuesday would be moved to Wednesday, while the negotiating proposal on inclusion and salaries will not be delivered until Tuesday, a timeline that USTEC considers incompatible with a quick resolution of the conflict.
USTEC links 2026 budgets to conflict resolution
Iolanda Segura, spokesperson for USTEC, stated after the union's National Council that ERC and En Comú Podem must get involved "to resolve the conflict and not let it fester." She also demanded that they make public education an "unrenounceable priority" in the budget negotiations.
The union states that it has held direct conversations with the leadership of both parties. Their reproach is that neither ERC nor En Comú Podem have so far made teaching demands "red lines" within the Generalitat de Catalunya's accounts.
Segura argued that the 2026 budgets must serve to close the conflict with the teaching staff. In parallel, the union organization demands that Salvador Illa personally get involved in the negotiation to facilitate the calling off of the strike.
Educació postpones table to Wednesday and will deliver proposal on Tuesday
The latest move by the Departament d'Educació came on Friday night, when it notified the change of date for the sectoral table. The meeting moved from Tuesday to Wednesday, while the delivery of the proposal on inclusion and salaries was delayed until Tuesday.
For USTEC, this sequence further distances an agreement. Segura described it as incomprehensible that the department continues to postpone negotiations and has not made conflict resolution an "absolute political priority."
The union maintains that it will attend talks if there is real room for progress. In fact, it states that it is willing to negotiate "for as many hours as necessary," but demands a concrete and sufficient proposal from the Government to unblock the table.
The warning has already been issued. USTEC will not attend Wednesday's meeting if the text it receives beforehand does not convince it.
The union calls for tougher mobilizations before May 27
While awaiting the proposal from Educació, the organization is raising its tone for the coming weeks. Its internal and public call is to toughen the cycle of strikes in defense of public education.
In this context, USTEC wants to make May 27 a new historic strike. The union links this call to the deadlock in negotiations on inclusion and salaries and the lack of progress at the sectoral table.
Iolanda Segura, spokesperson for USTEC, also set an immediate condition for Wednesday's meeting by warning that the union will not attend if the negotiating proposal that the Departament d'Educació must deliver on Tuesday is not convincing.