Barcelona schools face seven days of strikes in May and June

Teachers and nursery staff in Barcelona will strike for seven days between 7 May and 5 June, impacting the final weeks of the 2025-2026 school year. The industrial action, called by major education unions, includes five days affecting schools and institutes, and two days specifically for nurseries.

The strikes are part of 17 planned days of action across Catalonia, though not all centres will be affected for the full duration. Barcelona will also see several unified demonstrations in the city's streets, continuing a series of protests that began in March.

Strike Dates in Barcelona

Key strike dates for schools and institutes in Barcelona, and other municipalities in the Barcelonès area, are 12 May, 18 May, 27 May, 2 June, and 5 June. Additionally, nurseries for children aged 0-3 years will strike on 7 May and 20 May.

Unions have also announced unspecified actions in educational centres for 6 May. Two unified demonstrations are planned to coincide with the start and end of the strike calendar, on Tuesday 12 May and Friday 5 June.

Reasons for the Strikes

The strikes, organised by USTEC-STEs, Professors de Secundària (ASPEPC-sps), CGT, and Intersindical, represent a challenge to the Department of Education. Unions are calling for renewed negotiations to secure improvements for both staff and classroom support.

This new wave of protests follows the rejection of an agreement reached between the government and CCOO and UGT, which the Department of Education described as a "historic agreement". The striking unions disagree, stating the agreement was "signed behind the backs of the majority".

Unions demand the recovery of teachers' purchasing power, increased educational investment to reduce class sizes, better support for diversity in classrooms, an end to bureaucratic overload, and a review of current curricula with teacher input. Iolanda Segura, spokesperson for USTEC-STEs, stated that "to call off the strikes, an agreement would be necessary" and that "words are not enough for us". Unions warn that without a "dignified proposal" to meet their demands, the school year will not end normally.