Hundreds of teachers have mobilized in the center of Barcelona to demand that the Department of Education recover the purchasing power lost since 2009 and improve the salaries of all educational staff. The protests have had broad participation and have focused on the labor and organizational situation of schools in Catalonia.
Claims on resources and working conditions
Unions and professionals demand more resources to attend to students, especially regarding the decree on inclusive education. Among the main demands is the need to lower ratios and expand staff, measures they consider essential to guarantee adequate attention in classrooms. Furthermore, they request to reduce bureaucracy in educational centers, a burden that they assure hinders the daily work of teachers.
Criticism of management and requests for regulatory changes
The teaching collective asks to guarantee internal democracy in the centers and to repeal the decrees on staffing, center autonomy, and directorates. They also demand that curricula be negotiated and agreed upon with teaching staff, emphasizing the importance of participation in educational decision-making.
Demonstrations and union response
On November 15 and January 24, unitary demonstrations were held in Barcelona. On both occasions, teachers showed a "demonstration of commitment and collective strength" according to the organizers. The response from the Department of Education has been described as insufficient by the convening unions.
"He has not fulfilled the commitment to propose an increase in the specific supplement nor has he put any other concrete proposal on the table and negotiations are deadlocked; the meetings, with an agreed calendar and negotiation points, have turned out to be a waste of time" - Convening Unions
Union representatives insist that the Department of Education "continues without moving a piece" and denounce the lack of progress in negotiations. The discontent among teachers is evident.
"We feel ignored, belittled, and mistreated" - Teachers from Catalonia
The situation remains open and the unions do not rule out further actions if there are no changes in the administration's stance.