The public education of Madrid has returned this Sunday to the streets. Around 10,000 people, according to the figures from the Government Delegation, have participated in a demonstration that started at 12:00 hours from Atocha and ended at Puerta del Sol, in front of the headquarters of the Government of the Community of Madrid. Teachers, students, families, unions, and different educational platforms have participated in a protest that also serves as a prelude to the indefinite strike called for next October 14. The date and the route had been announced at the beginning of September by the Unitario Strike Committee of the public education of Madrid.
Under the slogan "Let's save public education", the organizers have once again put on the table a broad package of labor and educational demands. Among them is to reduce the teaching load to a maximum of 17 weekly teaching periods in Secondary and Vocational Training and 22 in Primary, including in the count the hours dedicated to tutoring, department heads, and coordinations. They also demand to lower the ratios, strengthen the staff to attend to diversity, reduce bureaucracy, improve infrastructures, and raise teachers' salaries.
Fewer teaching hours and a raise of 600 euros
The general secretary of the Education Federation of CCOO Madrid, Aida Sanmillán, has estimated a 21.9% loss of purchasing power accumulated by Madrid teachers since 2010 and has demanded a salary increase of 600 euros per month to bring their remuneration closer to that of other communities and to compensate, according to the union, for the high cost of living in Madrid. This increase is part of the demands presented by the strike committee, along with the reduction of teaching hours and ratios.
UGT has also placed the fight against school segregation among its priorities. Its spokesperson, Chema Pinto, has denounced that Madrid presents high levels of segregation and has defended a public school capable of guaranteeing equal opportunities regardless of the economic or social background of the students. "It cannot be that the inequalities of entry into the educational system are perpetuated or increased throughout it, and at the exit remain the same or higher," he stated during the mobilization. The committee also demands a greater number of counselors and specialists, with special attention to students with specific needs.
The indefinite strike will begin on October 14
The mobilization this Sunday constitutes one of the last major acts before the start of the indefinite strike of non-university public education, scheduled for October 14. The call was agreed upon in June at a teachers' assembly and later formalized by the Unit Strike Committee, which groups organizations such as CCOO, UGT, CGT, CNT, STEM, Solidaridad Obrera, and various platforms in the sector.
The Student Union has also called on families and students to get involved in the mobilizations. Its spokesperson, Carlos Ochoa, defended this Sunday that the protest "is not just a battle of youth" nor exclusively of the educational community, but a mobilization in defense of public education as a collective service. The unions aim to maintain pressure in the coming weeks if no progress is made in negotiations with the Department of Education.
The Community highlights more teachers and the reduction of ratios
The regional government, for its part, claims that the 2026/27 school year has begun with 1,280 more teachers in public centers, an addition to which it has allocated more than 65 million euros. The Community also states that this year the maximum ratio has been reduced throughout compulsory secondary education, from 30 to 25 students per classroom, while in 1st and 2nd grade of Primary it stands at 20 students. The regional Executive presents these measures as part of a progressive process to improve staffing and educational attention.
However, the unions consider that these changes are insufficient and demand lower limits, especially in classrooms with students who need specific support, as well as more staff and a greater reduction in teaching hours. The gap between the measures implemented by the Community and the demands of the committee explains why the strike call continues just over two weeks before its start.
From Atocha to Sol to increase pressure
The arrival of the march at the Puerta del Sol has once again placed the protest in front of the headquarters of the Madrid Executive. The educational community seeks for the coming weeks to serve to open negotiations that avoid a prolonged conflict, but the committee currently maintains the approved schedule and has warned that it will continue with the mobilizations as long as it does not obtain sufficient commitments.
With the protest this Sunday, Madrid's public education thus enters the final stretch towards October 14. The demands range from salaries and working hours to ratios, attention to diversity, bureaucracy, and infrastructure. The next scenario will be an indefinite strike, unless an agreement is reached between the representatives of the workers and the Community of Madrid beforehand.