In the worrying and complex educational crisis that the country is suffering –inclusion, knowledge level, debate on methods, school dropout, student diversity, risk of segregation, insecurity in some centers, etc.–, a crisis, on the other hand, very general around the world, for weeks the element that has taken on maximum relevance and centrality in Catalonia is the salary issue. It is not a minor element. And it is absolutely a legitimate demand. Any professional group has the right to demand salary improvements, of course. Teachers too, who, in fact, like the bulk of Catalan workers, have lost purchasing power in recent years.
In this context, the sector's unions have managed to position themselves at the forefront of teacher discontent and have had broad backing from the collective they represent, teachers and professors who feel punished and questioned by society and who, consequently, have radicalized their complaint. This radicality has been seen in the streets and has also been seen at the negotiating table with the Government, a negotiation that has ended up focusing on salary and inclusive schools, for which they demand more support and, above all, more staff.
The Department of Education, trailing behind a union standoff marked by an unprecedented, intensive, and extensive strike calendar, has been increasing its offer, which began with an initial agreement with the minority unions in the sector –UGT and CCOO–. After a tough struggle, the latest position of the ministry, this Thursday, involves practically doubling the bet with an offer that comes very close to the minimum salary threshold set by the majority union –USTEC–: an improvement, to be achieved in the next four years, close to 400 euros per month, which would place the gross base salary of a teacher at more than 2,700 euros gross per month, not counting seniority and allowances for position or destination. It should be taken into account that the average gross salary in Catalonia is about a thousand euros below this figure.
With this offer, an agreement should be within reach. It would be good if in the coming hours there is enough flexibility and responsibility for the dialogue not to be shipwrecked. It would be highly worrying if the academic year ended with the parties in confrontation and the next academic year began with the same tension. Above all, because an agreement, if it occurs, will only be a starting point for redirecting a climate that has been strained for too long.
An understanding between unions and the department would, in fact, be only a first pacifying step that should be continued with an understanding from the entire community –teachers, administration, educators, families, unions– to join forces. The climate of pessimism and confrontation must be banished. It is essential that the search for culprits ceases and that brave and imaginative solutions begin to be sought, very probably also diverse depending on the contexts. Only without fear, with open-mindedness and generosity, will it be possible to get out of the educational deadlock in which we are installed. In other, more complicated times, it was achieved. Today it must also be possible. It is time to reach an agreement to face the educational future with new momentum.
