A €1,500 annual salary increase: the government's proposal for teachers
The measure would entail an expenditure of 300 million and would be implemented gradually over the next four years.
BarcelonaThe Catalan government has taken up the challenge posed by teachers' demands and put forward a concrete proposal to improve their salaries. The Department of Education will propose to the unions this Thursday a salary increase of approximately €1,500 gross per year for teachers. The salary increase will be implemented through a 15% increase in the specific supplement – which all teachers receive – until 2029. In other words, the increase will be phased in gradually over the next four years: it will be divided into four 3.75% increases, applied in 2026, 2027, and 2028. The government believes this addresses the unions' demands. "We think it's a good proposal after more than 25 years in which no government has proposed an improvement to the specific supplement," said the Secretary for Educational Improvement, Ignasi Giménez. However, as it has repeatedly stated in recent months, the Catalan government warns that the measure will depend on the ability to reach a budget agreement. In this regard, Giménez admitted that "having a budget would facilitate implementing the increase." This salary increase will entail an expenditure of approximately 300 million euros, equivalent to 10% of the Education Department's budget. It should be noted that the public education system employs around 97,000 teachers, representing 54% of the Catalan government's workforce. In practical terms, the increase of approximately 1,500 euros annually will mean that in four years, Catalan teachers will earn 110 euros more gross per month than they do now. According to the Education Department, with the proposed increase, they would move into the "upper-middle" salary bracket compared to teachers in other autonomous communities.
Now, sources within the Department of Education admit that this salary increase will also be accompanied by "new duties" that teachers will have to assume. According to the government, there is no way to justify this increase in the supplement at the regulatory level without incorporating new functions into the daily work of teachers. Sources at the Department of Education admit that many of these tasks had already been undertaken, but that they were not yet reflected in their job descriptions, and that they are linked to inclusive education and student guidance.
What will the salaries be like?
Taking into account the 15% increase in the specific supplement announced by the Government and the 11% increase in the base salary for civil servants agreed upon at the state level – which represents an expenditure of 450 million euros for the Generalitat – teachers' salaries would change as follows. For preschool and primary school teachers, the salary would increase from the current 2,531 euros gross per month to 2,729 euros gross per month by 2029. For secondary and high school teachers, the salary would increase from the current 2,874 euros gross per month to 3,000 euros gross per month. [
Reduction of one student per group in three years]
The Education Department's proposal also includes a slight reduction in class sizes over the coming years. The Government's objective is to reduce the number of students in secondary school classrooms from the current 28 to 27 within three years. "Subsequently, the number will be gradually reduced to reach 25 students per classroom," the Government states. Regarding primary education, the aim is also to reduce class sizes by approximately one student, from 21.4 to 20 in the 2028-2029 academic year. The proposal, which the department will present to the unions, also includes strengthening inclusive education, recognizing teachers' authority, and streamlining bureaucratic processes in schools. Regarding inclusive education, among other things, the Department of Education proposes the creation of 300 new educational support positions in the 2027-2028 academic year and an increase "during the next academic year" in the number of places in special education centers, investing 6 million euros.
Recognition of teachers' authority
One of the aspects that the Secretary for Educational Improvement has highlighted in the proposal they will present to the unions is the section that seeks to emphasize "the social relevance of teaching." In this regard, they assert that there will be "legal recognition of teachers' authority," making them public authorities in the exercise of their duties. "The aim is to equate teachers with the recognition already afforded to other professional sectors that perform essential public functions," the department stated.
