Everything points to the fact that it will not be the last. The statewide strike for early childhood education called for this May 7 comes with new mobilizations and protests planned in different autonomous communities. The unions and organizing platforms maintain that the conflict in the 0 to 3 years cycle remains open due to the labor conditions in the sector and the situation of public and private early childhood schools.
CCOO, CGT and different organizations in the sector have pointed out during recent weeks that the main demands involve salary improvements, reduction of ratios, increase in staff, and greater investment in early childhood education. The calls affect public, private, and subsidized centers in different territories.
The strike day of May 7 is also added to other open conflicts in several autonomous communities. In some territories, there are already mobilization calendars and new calls announced for the coming weeks by unions and worker platforms.
What early childhood education workers are demanding
Among the main demands is the reduction of ratios in the classrooms of the 0-3 cycle. Unions maintain that the number of minors assigned per professional makes educational and care attention difficult in many nursery schools.
Another of the most repeated demands is salary improvement. The convening organizations denounce that part of the sector's workers receive salaries close to the interprofessional minimum wage despite performing educational functions.
The unions also demand more specialized staff for students with special educational needs and the implementation of the so-called "educational pair," with two professionals per classroom during the school day.
New mobilizations planned
In addition to the state strike on May 7, various organizations have announced new mobilizations during May. CGT has called for a state demonstration in Madrid for May 23.
In Catalonia, the Platform 0-3 has called for new strike days in public and private nurseries for May 7 and 20.
In the Community of Madrid, the indefinite strike initiated in indirectly managed nursery schools last April also continues. The workers maintain gatherings and protests to demand labor improvements and changes in service conditions.
The focus on the 0-3 cycle
The conflict has once again focused attention on the first cycle of early childhood education in Spain. According to data cited by CCOO, the sector groups around 60,000 professionals in around 11,000 centers throughout the country.
The organizations calling for this strike maintain that the 0-3 cycle continues to face problems related to funding, working conditions, and educational recognition. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education keeps the negotiation process open regarding the regulation and conditions of the first cycle of early childhood education, as CCOO reported after meetings held with the ministerial department.