Around 1,500 people demonstrate in Barcelona to demand better conditions in the 0-3 education cycle

BarcelonaAround 1,500 people, according to municipal sources – 3,000, according to the organizers – demonstrated this Saturday in Barcelona despite the rain to demand improvements in the working conditions of staff in the 0-3 age group. The demonstration, which began in front of the Post Office building and ended in front of the Catalan Parliament, was organized by the 0-3 Platform of Catalonia under the slogan "0 excuses, 3 reasons: justice, equity, and future." Chanting "We are education, not daycare," the demonstrators not only demanded better conditions for professionals in the sector, but also advocated for a reduction in the student-teacher ratio and the right of children to a quality, equitable public education from the first day of life. The Platform's spokesperson, Joan Cela, stated that Catalan daycare centers have the highest ratios in Europe and demanded that "children be put at the center." "We want to be treated like the second cycle of early childhood education; we want to have the same rights," Cela asserted. Throughout the march, various signs could be seen, such as "If there's a shortage of staff in schools, children and adults alike suffer," "Childhood policies with pedagogical criteria," "Lower ratios, more hugs," and "We fight for the 0-3 level." "We have a very complicated situation, with five different models, involving private companies and city councils," Cela emphasized. However, she affirmed that people came to the march from all over, in an unprecedented demonstration. "An improvement in working conditions is necessary, as well as lower ratios and the creation of a 0-3 age group chart so that all of this can begin to be discussed," she concluded.