Barcelona’s main teaching unions, USTEC and Professors de Secundària, have reached a pre-agreement with the Catalan Education Department after eight negotiation meetings and widespread teacher strikes across Catalonia. The deal, signed in Barcelona on 30 May 2026, will now be put to teachers for validation.
Both unions described the text as a good deal in the circumstances, although it does not meet every demand. USTEC said it would work to secure a yes vote. CGT, Intersindical and COS left the talks, saying the proposal did not meet their minimum requirements or respect their red lines.
The main points of contention included linguistic immersion, inclusive education, class size reductions and salary guarantees. Strikes planned for the following Monday were still being discussed, with unions split on whether to go ahead. In total, 12 strikes had taken place across Catalonia during the third academic term, including regional actions and protests focused on the 0-3 age group.
Salaries were one of the central issues in the talks. The pre-agreement sets out gradual monthly increases of €50 in 2026, €52.25 in 2027, €103.30 in 2028 and €173.30 in 2029. The government says this will amount to a total rise of €600 over four years, including state-level increases for all Spanish civil servants.
The autonomous part of the pay rise will add €384.77 over four years for primary teachers and €389.50 for secondary teachers. That includes a new autonomous supplement of €170 a month. With the projected state increases, the total rise is expected to be €599.50 for primary teachers and €633.58 for secondary teachers.
The agreement also expands inclusive education funding. Catalan schools and institutes will receive more than 6,300 new staff positions, including 1,088 in the 2026-2027 academic year, 1,651 in 2027-2028, 1,651 in 2028-2029 and 2,023 in 2029-2030, for a total of 6,413 positions. The plan also includes more support for communication skills and language acquisition, with staff from MALL and CREDA services and speech therapists.
Other measures include 5,000 new secondary school chairs, monitoring spaces for infrastructure, climate control and curriculum, and the recovery of sexenni debt over five years. The Department will also set up a stable consultation and working group with the signatory unions to review future curriculum changes, including vocational training. Teachers are expected to vote on the proposal through assemblies and consultations over the weekend, with results due on Monday or Tuesday. More Catalonia news
