Teachers have taken to the streets in the Valencian Community, and also in Catalonia. The teachers' strike in Catalan public education faces a new day called by teachers' unions in a context of open conflict with the Generalitat. The protest comes after weeks of tension between teaching representatives and the Departament d’Educació over various labor and organizational demands that remain unresolved.
The call once again places issues such as the working conditions of teachers, the organization of the educational system, and the negotiation between the Administration and unions at the center of the educational debate. These are the main keys to the teaching strike in Catalonia.
Who calls the strike?
The strike has been called by USTEC-STEs and CGT Ensenyament, among other trade union organizations in the Catalan educational field that maintain the open conflict with the Generalitat.
The convening unions maintain that the mobilization responds to the lack of sufficient progress in negotiations with the Departament d’Educació and have called on public education teachers to support the strike as a pressure measure.
When is the strike?
To this strike day of May 12, two others will join soon: May 27 and June 5. Both will affect all of Catalonia.
What do the unions claim?
The organizing organizations maintain that structural problems persist in the Catalan educational system and demand changes in various labor and organizational areas.
Among their demands are improvements in the conditions of the teaching staff, review of certain organizational decisions and advances in issues linked to staff, workload and labor negotiation. The unions maintain that the protest responds to accumulated demands and to disagreements with the educational management of the Generalitat.
What does the Generalitat say?
The Department of Education maintains its institutional position and defends the measures adopted within its educational planning. The Generalitat maintains that it keeps channels of dialogue open with union representatives and has conveyed its position on the claims made by the organizers. From the educational Administration, it is also insisted on guaranteeing the functioning of the educational system during the strike day.
Will there be minimum services?
The minimum services decreed by the Generalitat de Catalunya are the following:
Educational centers
- One person from the management team per center.
In addition to the people mentioned:
- For early childhood, primary, and secondary education: one teacher for every 3 units or classrooms.
- For special education (from 3 to 16 years old): 50% of the centers' staff.
- For nurseries: 33% of the staff.
- For the Tarragona educational complex: 50% of the dining hall and kitchen staff, one maintenance person per shift, and maintenance of the usual service in nursing, security, and the tutors' night shift.
Other services
- 50% of the dining hall monitoring staff, kitchen service, reception service, extracurricular activities service, and special educational needs student support service.
Will there be gatherings or protests?
Two marches, departing from Plaza España and El Clot, will converge in Plaza Urquinaona, where the demonstration will begin at 12:00 PM.
Which centers does it affect?
The teachers' strike in Catalonia affects the entire Catalan public education system within the scope defined by the call. The impact may reach different educational stages depending on adherence to the strike and the minimum services established.
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