Barcelona, Catalonia, the Catalan government says it will go ahead with an education pre-agreement even after 39,500 teachers voted against it. Education Minister Esther Niubó said the commitment to carry out the deal remains, and that only USTEC has refused to sign, while Professors de Secundària, CCOO and UGT will back it.
Niubó made the announcement after an urgent meeting with President Salvador Illa. She said the government had listened to union representatives and reached agreements, and urged unions to reconsider. She also said she would call a round of contacts with union forces to make a joint assessment of the situation.
She added that the government believes Catalonia moves forward through agreements, and that blocking is not positive in any case. The comments came as the executive faced pressure over how to respond to the teachers' rejection of the pre-agreement.
In the Catalan Parliament, opposition parties called for fresh negotiations. Oriol Junqueras of ERC said on X that he respects the teachers' no vote, while ERC spokesperson Ester Capella asked the government to work to reach a new agreement. For more Catalonia politics coverage, see our news page.
Comuns said the result points to a wider model problem and called for parties, unions and families to be brought together for a change of course. Junts spokesperson Mònica Sales said ERC and Comuns should withdraw their support for the Generalitat's budget, while Salvador Vergés said Minister Niubó should step aside from the talks and let President Illa take over.
CUP deputy Pilar Castillejo also called for negotiations to be reopened without limits or imposed restrictions. She said the budget should not go ahead if the critical situation in education is not resolved.