Barcelona is at the centre of a new education dispute after teachers and professors rejected an agreement between trade unions and the Education Department, meaning strikes will continue. On the morning of the rejection, a group of teachers occupied the department’s territorial services building in the Zona Franca area of Barcelona.
The mobilisation is set to continue until the end of the academic year, according to the source. For readers following Catalonia-wide education news, this is the latest sign that the conflict has not been resolved despite talks between unions and the government. See our news coverage for more updates.
In the consultation, about 65% of teachers who took part, representing 60% of total staff, voted against the pact reached by the majority unions and the government. The result leaves both sides under pressure, and it shows that the agreement did not win enough support among the teachers affected.
The source argues that the government made a mistake by signing an agreement with UGT and Comissions, which were not the majority unions, as if the protests had ended. It also says USTEC later signed an improved and expanded agreement, but its members have now rejected it. That leaves the dispute in an uncertain phase, with no clear end in sight.
The article says the wider issue is not only the current strike, but the state of education in Catalonia. It points to shortages of staff and materials across the system, from early childhood education to baccalaureate, and says schools need better-trained professionals and a different level of discussion.
It also says the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, should be directly involved, while the opposition should be careful in its criticism and all parties should work towards country-wide agreements. The current government, led by Minister Niubó, is responsible for the immediate situation, but the source adds that the decline in Catalonia’s schools has been building over time under different governments.
