Valencia, Spain, is back at the centre of a tense education dispute as teachers’ unions resumed negotiations with the regional education ministry on 24 March 2026, during the fifth week of an indefinite strike. The talks followed a weekend encampment by striking teachers in Valencia’s Plaça de la Mare de Déu during the Corpus Christi celebrations.
The previous session, held on Friday and ending around 10pm, was streamed live on YouTube. Union representatives criticised that decision, describing it as a show and a reality TV spectacle, and saying it amounted to an electoral rally for the Popular Party. Education Minister Carmen Ortí and Education Secretary Daniel McEvoy were said to have softened their tone during that meeting, with messages apparently aimed at the online audience.
Today’s meeting started 45 minutes late after the STEPV union brought three representatives to the negotiation room. The union said it could have up to six representatives under the law because of its majority status. The ministry again proposed broadcasting the talks online, and the session was available to follow live.
Before entering the meeting, union spokespeople said they had arrived without an agenda and did not know what Minister Ortí planned for the broadcast. STEPV, CCOO and UGT all said the ministry’s offer lacked clarity. Xelo Valls of CCOO said the live format could interfere with confidentiality, adding that the talks were not a parliament and that calm negotiation could not be put at risk in the name of transparency.
Valls said Friday’s meeting had offered a window to possible improvements. She said the main issues in the talks were the development of Valencian language education and pay, following several versions of a document signed by the ANPE and CSIF unions. Over the weekend, unions reviewed the first four weeks of the strike and a draft agreement sent by the ministry on Friday, which was also sent to the press and emailed to nearly 78,000 affected teachers.
The unions said any improvements in the ministry’s proposals were the result of their mobilisation over the past four weeks. STEPV, CCOO and UGT also accused the ministry of bad practices, while UGT said those practices were incompatible with a serious, transparent and respectful negotiation process. The unions also criticised the deployment of security forces during demonstrations and said the negotiation table had become a political propaganda operation. STEPV said the ministry was trying to prolong talks to wear down strikers, who have continued their action despite the pressure.