Barcelona teachers blocked a section of Via Augusta again on Friday afternoon, opposite the Catalan Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, as their dispute over salaries and working conditions continued.
Around 50 teachers took part in the protest, which began at about 4:20pm after a recess in a sectoral meeting on labour improvements. The road had already been closed earlier in the day, from 10:20am until about 1:30pm.
Teachers returned to the street chanting, “Luchando también estamos educando” (Fighting, we are also educating), in support of their union representatives. The Friday meeting included Education Minister Esther Niubó. According to 20 Minutos Barcelona, salary issues remain a key point of disagreement with the department.
The protests are being organised by the majority unions Ustec and Professors de Secundària (Aspepc), together with CGT and Intersindical. They say the agreement signed by CCOO and UGT with the Catalan government is not enough. As reported by El Periódico, that pact includes an annual salary rise of €3,000 by 2029 and a payment of €50 per night for school trips, among other measures.
The strike plan includes 17 days of action in total, organised by territory and educational level. Three general strike days have already taken place on 12 May, 27 May and 5 June. Two more strike days are planned per territory, and if all planned mobilisations go ahead, each school or institute will face five strike days in less than a month. Early childhood education centres for children aged 0 to 3 also have two extra strike days scheduled, and they join Catalonia-wide strikes but not the territorial ones.
Friday’s strike affected educational centres in the Baix Llobregat and Penedès regions. Unions say they will keep pressing for more talks on pay and working conditions, as they do not believe the current agreement meets their demands. For more Catalonia education coverage, see our news page.