The education unions still have to decide whether to maintain Monday's strike
USTEC sources explain that they will make the decision this afternoon
After the majority education unions reached a preliminary agreement with the Government this Friday —which they will now have to put to a vote—, at this time USTEC has not yet decided whether to maintain the strike called for Monday, or not. Sources from the union explain to ARA that the decision will be made this afternoon in a meeting where it will be decided whether there is "a ceasefire" or not.
Who will probably maintain the protest called for this Monday are CGT and Intersindical, who finally decided not to sign the preliminary agreement because it did not contemplate aspects such as a reduction in ratios in 1st grade of primary school, a timetable for the internalization of support staff and the reclassification of educational support staff (PAE). "For honesty, we have walked away," explained Laura Gené from CGT.
12 hours of negotiation
After twelve hours of negotiation and up to eight meetings, the Department of Education and the unions reached an agreement last night for a gross monthly salary increase of 450 euros for teachers over four years. The agreement will have to receive the endorsement of the teachers in a consultation that is expected to start this Saturday or Sunday morning, but which will not be finished by Monday morning and, therefore, does not allow the strike on that day to be lifted.
This Saturday morning, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, celebrated the pre-agreement, which he described as "historic". He said this during an event to inaugurate a residence for the elderly in Calaf (Anoia), where he thanked the "will and attitude of dialogue" that made the agreement possible and the "work" of the Department of Education, which resumed talks with the main unions a few weeks ago in response to their refusal to join the pact already closed with CCOO and UGT. "It is a first step to improve the educational field and to focus from now on all efforts on what really matters, which is to achieve excellence in the educational field," stressed the Catalan president.