Tarragona was at the centre of Catalonia’s education strike on 27 May 2026, as hundreds of teachers gathered in Plaça de la Font on the second day of action across the region. Local reports said more than 700 people took part in the protest, while a separate demonstration in Torredembarra blocked the AP-7 motorway.
Education unions said the sustained action was beginning to have an effect on the Education Department. Alexis Auderset, spokesperson for USTEC-Stes, said the protests showed that teachers were capable of pressing the department to move. He said May had already seen 17 days of protests outside classrooms.
Francesc Gassó of the Secondary Teachers' Union said the situation marked a move away from disagreement and towards an agreement. Unions also said there had been some progress in talks with the education ministry, including the withdrawal of an agreement signed with UGT and CCOO that they said did not represent the majority of the sector.
Key demands remain in place. These include better working conditions, an effective reduction in class sizes, and more resources to support what unions describe as a public, quality and inclusive education system. The ministry has also recognised the debt for 'estadios' and is open to renegotiating a specific pay supplement.
Unions said any new proposal would not be accepted automatically. Instead, it would be put to a vote by teaching staff. Gassó also called for clear curricula so families know what students should learn each year, and for a review of the inclusive schooling model, which has been in place in Catalonia for a decade.
Gassó said many external assessments rate the current inclusive education system very negatively. He said the present situation should be used to review how all students are supported and how academic performance can improve. Union speakers told teachers they would stay in the protest until they recovered the enthusiasm for teaching that, they said, had been taken from them.
