In Lleida, the Catalan education department and unions USTEC and Aspepc.sps reached a preliminary agreement on 29 May 2026 to end a long-running labour dispute. The deal includes a pay rise that unions say will amount to €600 a month for teachers.
The agreement brings USTEC and Aspepc.sps into line with a wider education accord that the Generalitat finalised with CCOO and UGT on 9 March. CGT did not join the deal and walked out of the talks, calling for the resignation of Education Minister Esther Niubó.
The pact creates a new payment, the Complement de Millora del Servei d'Educació, or Education Service Improvement Complement. According to the education department, it will start at €50 a month in 2026 and rise gradually to €173.30 a month by 2029 for all teaching staff. The unions said this would lift the initial projected increase of €200 to about €390, and to around €600 once the state increase is included.
It also sets out 5,000 new posts for secondary education, plastic arts and design, official language schools, and music and performing arts teachers. These posts will be split into two calls of 2,500 positions each in 2027 and 2028.
Ignasi Giménez, secretary for educational improvement, described the agreement as an exercise in responsibility. He thanked the union organisations for their generosity and said the talks were slow, difficult, and the result of many hours of negotiation.
The preliminary deal still needs approval from union members and staff. It also includes a wider staffing plan, with 6,413 new workers due to join over four academic years, 1,088 in 2026-27, 1,651 in 2027-28, 1,651 in 2028-29, and 2,023 in 2029-30. CGT criticised the outcome, saying a change in the department is needed to face what it called an educational emergency situation. For more Catalonia-wide education coverage, see our news page.