The agreement between the Education Department and the unions: 3,000 euros more per year, charging for summer camps, and 300 million for inclusive education.

A half-hearted agreement has been reached between the Catalan government and teachers' unions. This Monday, the Department of Education reached an agreement with the CCOO and UGT unions on a proposal to improve working conditions. However, the two largest unions—USTEC and Secondary School Teachers—and the CGT, which together represent 60% of the teaching staff, have not signed the agreement. In fact, the unions that support the agreement, CCOO and UGT, only have 21% representation. The proposal—the fourth since negotiations began—comes seven days before the week of strikes called in the sector and as a response to... the massive strike staged by teachers a month agoThe agreement is not subject to budget approval and includes, among other things, an additional €3,000 for teachers, a slight reduction in class sizes, and €300 million to strengthen inclusive education. According to the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, the agreement with CCOO and UGT is the "most ambitious" ever reached in education, and the Catalan Government has described it as a "national agreement." Conversely, Iolanda Segura, spokesperson for the Ustec union, stated that it is an "absolutely ideological and political agreement that does not respond to the needs of the group" and accused the Department of Education of walking away from the negotiating table after presenting a proposal she called "unacceptable" and an "insult." €200 gross per month and €50 per overnight stay

The part of the proposal I was most looking forward to is the one concerning salaries. The Catalan Ministry of Education has finally offered to increase the specific supplement by 30% over four years, meaning that by 2029 teachers would earn approximately €3,000 more gross annually than they do now. This increase will amount to about €200 more gross per month and will move Catalan teachers from being the fourth lowest paid in Spain to the third highest paid, behind the Basque Country and Cantabria. This pay increase will affect teachers in both public and private schools—a total of 129,327 workers—and will cost €1.257 billion over four years. The salary increase will be implemented as a single annual payment, which teachers will begin receiving that same year.

Monday's offer doubles the initial proposal the Government sent to teachers, which stipulated an additional €1,500 over four years. Furthermore, it also addresses a long-standing demand: that teachers be paid for attending summer camps or school trips. Specifically, it is planned that teachers will receive €50 per night as compensation for overnight stays.

As already indicated in previous proposals, the document presented today by the Government to the unions also includes recognizing teachers as public authorities in the exercise of their teaching duties.

Less ability of principals to choose teachers

One of the measures in the agreement with the unions involves the government backtracking on granting school principals the power to choose their teachers. If at the beginning of the year Education He stated that more interviews could be conducted next year to select teachers.Now, the regional education ministry has directly agreed that interviews for hiring teachers will not be permitted unless they are linked to inclusive education. Furthermore, it will stipulate that designated positions—vacancies reserved for teachers to be selected—cannot exceed 3%, whereas previously the education law allowed up to 50% of vacancies in a school to be of this type. Currently, 7% of positions in the education system are designated (7,000), and it is anticipated that 4,500 will be lost to comply with the 3% limit.

30 students per classroom in 1st year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education)

The agreement also includes a slight, phased reduction in class sizes. The most significant change is in secondary education (ESO): the government promises that next year no first-year ESO class will exceed the maximum ratio of 30 students per classroom – although by law they should no longer be above this number, some classrooms remain overcrowded. It also assures that in the 2027-2028 academic year, a gradual reduction of class sizes to 25 students per class will begin, prioritizing schools with high student complexity, but without specifying when this goal will be reached. In upper secondary education (Bachillerato), the agreement stipulates a maximum class size of 35 students next year, and that by 2027-2028 this will be progressively reduced to 30 for first-year Bachillerato students. Regarding primary schools, it is guaranteed that next year 90% of E3 classes in public schools will not exceed the ratio of 20 students per classroom. However, at the press conference to present the pre-registration for the next school year, the Education Department already He announced that next year 96% of the E3 groups in public schools would have 20 or fewer students per classroomAnother noteworthy measure, which had not been previously discussed, is the Education Department's commitment to monthly monitoring of current enrollment to adjust the number of support classrooms as needed. They also intend to implement a maximum ratio of 18 students per group in this program.

300 million for inclusive education

The agreement includes a €299 million investment in inclusive education until 2031. Among other things, it plans to stop outsourcing 300 social integration workers (a measure that will entail an expenditure of almost €90 million), increase funding for special education centers with a maximum of 85 new groups, and incorporate [unclear - possibly "new groups"]. Furthermore, the Government also commits to improving the salary conditions of educational support staff (PAE), such as social educators, integration workers, and early childhood education technicians. This group will receive a supplement of between €290 and €470 depending on their category. [Unclear - possibly "A week of strikes"]

The offer presented this Monday by the education department led by Esther Niubó – who remains on medical leave – is the fourth that the Catalan government has put on the table since February 11, when teachers staged one of the largest strikes in recent years, with 55% participation and more than 70,000 protesters in the streets worldwide. In fact, Monday's proposal comes seven days before the start of the week of strikes that the unions had jointly called for, with demonstrations throughout Catalonia between March 16 and 20. USTEC, Secondary School Teachers, and CGT are maintaining this schedule of mobilizations, while CCOO and UGT have distanced themselves from the call after reaching an agreement with the Education Department.