Early Years Teachers Strike Across Catalonia for Better Conditions

Early years teachers in Catalonia, the Valencian Country, and the Balearic Islands began an unprecedented strike today, 7 March, to highlight what they call a critical situation in classrooms. They are calling for their profession to be recognised and for better conditions, including a reduction in the number of children per group. This age group currently has the highest student-to-teacher ratio in Europe, according to the striking unions.

This is the first time that early years teachers across the Catalan-speaking territories have united in a strike, organised by several Spanish trade unions and platforms. Both public and private schools are included in the call to strike. In Catalonia, the protests are led by Plataforma 0-3, which brings together various organisations and unions. In the Valencian Country, Plataforma 0-3 supports calls from Intersindical, CCOO, UGT, and CGT. In the Balearic Islands, CCOO, UGT, and STEI have called for action.

While each region has specific issues with its government, common demands include reducing class sizes, full recognition for early years educators, and more resources to manage increasing diversity and complexity in classrooms. Teachers also want a public early years school network to ensure quality, non-fragmented education for children. They are asking for non-teaching time for administrative and pedagogical tasks, and a unified school calendar with other educational stages to give children more rest time with their families.

Neus Rojas from Dignitat pel 0-3 told VilaWeb that the strike is expected to be historic. "We hope to thoroughly debate the need to rethink the conditions of the 0-3 stage. Policies for this stage must change, with responsibility from both central and local governments, and we must understand that 0-3 is the foundation of education," she explained.

Alba Moreno, a teacher at Barcelona's municipal nursery school Tramvia Blau and a member of Bressol BCN en Lluita, stressed that the strike is not just a labour protest. "It is a collective call to defend children's rights and dignified education from the earliest years of life," Moreno said. "The 0-3 stage is not just about reconciliation; it is also about education. It is the stage where emotional, cognitive, and social foundations are built. Despite all this, it remains one of the most precarious stages of the education system, with the highest ratios in Europe, a lack of resources, job instability, and territorial inequalities."

Long-Standing Demands for Recognition

The Valencian Intersindical union demands recognition for early years teachers, stating that their work is not merely an assistance service or a means of reconciliation. "The 0-3 stage has remained in an ambiguous regulatory margin because it is a historically invisible stage, primarily staffed by a deeply feminised collective: nearly 97% of professionals in the first cycle are women," the union stated. "This extreme feminisation has contributed to precarity, a lack of institutional recognition, and the uncritical assumption that educational and care work can be sustained with unmanageable ratios, low wages, and scarce resources." In the Valencian Country, teachers are calling for a reform of the current decree, approved in 2009, which they consider outdated.

Helena Morillas, a teacher and member of Plataforma 0-3 in Catalonia, said that the 0-3 stage is not treated as an educational stage in practice, judging by the budgets and funding allocated. In Catalonia, early years teachers' salaries vary depending on the agreement. There are five different management models because nurseries depend on municipal management, not the Generalitat. Professionals warn that this means each school can employ workers under different agreements and conditions, leading to varying salaries. Georgina Rius, also from Plataforma 0-3, warned that many public schools are only public in name, with external management companies paying workers according to agreements that set salaries below €1,200 per month.

Professionals are also asking for more resources for this educational stage. "We increasingly have children with special educational needs, and we demand that the Generalitat give us more resources," Moreno told VilaWeb. "They talk about inclusive education, but they do not give us the resources to apply it. These current conditions not only make it difficult for children to access quality educational care but also endanger their well-being and that of the teachers."

Europe's Most Crowded Classrooms

An early years teacher for children aged one to two years old is responsible for thirteen children. For children aged two to three, the figures rise to one teacher for every twenty children. These are the highest figures in Europe; the European Union average is one teacher for every five children of this age. "As long as they continue to see the 0-3 stage as a tool for reconciliation and not as an educational stage with its own identity, children will suffer systematic neglect due to excessive ratios, and workers will continue to have the most precarious working conditions in the education system," Rojas said.

"In the 0-3 stage, the situation is flagrant: the number of children per room we work with doubles European recommendations," Rojas explained. She works with a group of thirteen children aged one to two and described the daily precarity to VilaWeb: "I cannot sit down all day. In fact, many times I cannot even go out to drink water or go to the toilet."

Because of these conditions, teachers are asking for changes to these figures to align with European recommendations: one teacher for every four children under one year old, one for every six children aged one to two, and one for every eight children aged two to three.

Upcoming Protests and Next Steps

In Catalonia, today's mobilisation is organised by province. In Barcelona, a concentration is scheduled for 11.45am at Jardinets de Gràcia, and another at 5.30pm in front of the Spanish government sub-delegation. In Tarragona, the call is for 12pm at Plaça de la Font. In Lleida, it is at 12pm in front of the Paeria, and in Girona, also at 12pm in front of the city hall.

Another strike day is planned for Wednesday, 20 March, this time only in Catalonia, with a joint mobilisation in Barcelona. On both 7 and 20 March, minimum services will be in place at all Catalan centres, with 33% of staff and 50% of dining room monitors, reception staff, extracurricular activity staff, and staff attending to students with special educational needs.

In the Valencian Country, the strike is only today, with concentrations in several municipalities. In Castelló, it is at 6pm at Plaça de les Aules; in Valencia, at 12pm in front of Les Corts, and at 6pm at Plaça de l'Ajuntament; and in Alicante at 6.30pm at Plaça de la Muntanyeta. In the Balearic Islands, concentrations are simultaneous today.