Teachers from the Girona regions are called tomorrow to a strike day that will include a demonstration in Girona and slow marches from a dozen municipalities in the province. The protest will be the first of the two territorial calls planned in this phase of mobilizations, with a second stop set for June 1.
The day arrives while the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, has convened for tomorrow at half past nine a meeting with the union representatives of the Sectoral Table of Education to try to open avenues for agreement. Despite that meeting, the unions maintain the strike and reject the pact that the Department of Education signed with CCOO and UGT for considering it insufficient.
The protest will start at Correus and will reach the Serveis Territorials d'Educació
The main demonstration will leave at twelve noon from Correus and will advance to the Serveis Territorials d'Educació with the slogan "For Flower Time, we are planting ourselves". USTEC STEs, Professors de Secundària, La Intersindical and CGT have asked participants to bring decorated yellow or black flowers.
During the tour, the organizers plan to plant those flowers in front of the headquarters of the Generalitat of Catalonia. The action coincides with the celebration of Temps de Flors in Girona and seeks to give visibility to a protest that the unions frame within the end of the school year.
Before the march, the Coordinator of Educational Assemblies of the province of Girona has organized mobilizations towards the city from the first hour. The slow marches will begin at eight in the morning from Figueres, Verges, la Bisbal d'Empordà, Corçà, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Llagostera, Sils, Salt, Sarrià de Ter, Olot and Banyoles.
At ten o'clock, a breakfast is scheduled in Plaça Catalunya. Half an hour later, the same space will host an informative class to explain what has been done so far, what options remain open, and how to sustain the next mobilizations.
Organizers demand lower ratios and more staff before the end of the school year
The strikes in May and June are part of the campaign "Without dignified conditions, we do not finish the school year". The organizing bodies demand to recover purchasing power, reduce class sizes, increase staff, strengthen inclusive education, reduce bureaucratic burden, and review curricula with teacher participation.
The clash with the Department of Education is not limited to the strike calendar. The unions promoting the strike maintain that the agreement signed with CCOO and UGT does not respond to those demands and consider it insufficient to call off the protests.
Tomorrow, furthermore, educational centers will operate with minimum services set by the administration. In Early Childhood, Primary, and Secondary education, there must be one teacher for every three units or classrooms and one member of the management team per center.
In parallel, special education centers must cover 50% of the staff and nursery schools will have one-third of the staff. The resolution also includes coverage for dining rooms, reception, extracurricular activities, and students with special educational needs.
The second territorial day of this wave of mobilizations already has a date and will be on June 1st.