Teachers reject the agreement with Education and will call strikes next week

BarcelonaThe day has arrived. After 72 hours of voting, teachers revealed this midday that they reject the preliminary agreement of the majority unions and Education. They did so in a consultation in which more than 60,000 teachers participated (approximately 60% of the teachers and professors in the public education system). Of these, 65.1% have rejected the pact and, therefore, have committed to continue mobilizing. Those who have looked favorably on the preliminary agreement have stalled at 34.9%. For now, therefore, the general strike called for this Friday in all schools and institutes in the country remains. Now, however, it will be necessary to see how the next protests materialize, since the teachers who voted no have committed "to carry out the necessary strikes until the end of the school year".

The final results of the consultation show that 39,502 teachers are against the preliminary agreement with Education, almost double those who would endorse the pact (21,184). For now, the Department of Education has not yet reacted to the resounding no from the teachers to the agreement, but at this hour the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, is meeting with President Salvador Illa to analyze the scenario.

The first reaction to the consultation has come from the CGT, the union that withdrew from the union table to reject the agreement last week. "It is a totally resounding no, therefore, we remain in the streets. Before, however, we ask for the resignation of Minister Niubó. She has tried twice and has not succeeded," defended Laura Gené, general secretary of CGT Ensenyament.

Half an hour after learning the results of the consultation, the spokesperson for USTEC, Iolanda Segura, appeared and stated that next week there will be new strike days, the same week as the Pope's visit to Catalonia and the university entrance exams (PAU). "We want to send a very clear message: we have listened to the voice of the collective. The last few days have been very intense and for the first time a pre-agreement to improve working conditions has been brought to a vote. The teachers have said no and USTEC accepts the challenge," she defended. Faced with the possibility of an indefinite strike, the spokesperson said they believe that mobilizations "must be intensified," but that they will decide with the unions as a whole what form these new protests will take. Segura also asked that the minister summon them tomorrow and assured that the "broad no" indicates that the negotiation framework must be changed and no longer be based on the March agreement.

The spokesperson for USTEC also made a self-criticism, stating that "perhaps" they "rushed" the pre-agreement, but justified it by saying there was also a context of "a lot of pressure." Segura explained that now the union will conduct a "new consultation" to ascertain the teachers' "priorities" and how the new mobilizations should be. "We call everyone to strike tomorrow," concluded the USTEC spokesperson.

The unions made public at 12 noon the results of the consultation that was launched on Monday. Hours earlier, from USTEC, the forecast was already that they would be quite tight. "We believe that things will be quite disputed. [The results] will be fifty-fifty, but we don't know which way they will be leaning," stated Iolanda Segura, spokesperson for the majority union and signatory, along with Professors of Secondary Education, of the agreement with the Government, in statements to SER Catalunya.

More than half of Catalonia's 99,000 teachers have voted so far in the consultation – more than 60,000 in the latest count – sent to the teachers' corporate email. Segura described the figure as "significant," as it is higher than that of the March agreement consultation, which Education only agreed with CCOO and UGT.

The spokesperson stated that in recent days she has been able to gather that initially there was a "reactionary" and "impulsive" vote against the new preliminary agreement, which is opposed by the CGT, the Intersindical, and the COS. But she also highlighted that this Wednesday was the day of "most participation", which according to her could indicate the activation of a more "reflective" vote. She also explained that in recent hours teachers have called them asking for a change of vote, which – she clarified – is not possible.

Regarding those against the agreementno makes a lot of noise and the yes does not make as much, and therefore we do not know its volume," she said, and insisted again on the close results.

In case the teachers finally endorse the preliminary agreement, USTEC warns that it will not mean "social peace", but it will allow the consolidation and, if necessary, improvement of the "gains" achieved in the negotiation, such as the hiring of 6,400 professionals for inclusive education as agreed with Education. In case the "}no" wins, the union has proposed to move towards an indefinite strike like the one in the Valencian Country, a scenario that organizations like the CGT – which have maintained punctual and territorialized mobilizations this week – do not see favorably.

6,400 allocations and 4,500 euros

The preliminary agreement that last Friday the unions USTEC, Professors of Secondary Education, CCOO and UGT reached with the Minister of Education Esther Niubó — and which was rejected by CGT, Intersindical and COS who have maintained protests this week — had two key points: a salary increase and an increase in resources, especially to strengthen inclusive education. Regarding salaries, it has been agreed that in the next four years teachers will earn 600 euros gross per month more (around 170 correspond to a state increase and the rest depend on Catalan investment). In fact, the increase of 50 euros in this offer was the main breakthrough to reach an agreement last week. Still regarding the remuneration aspect, they also agreed on the compensation of the debt for the stadiums, an almost historical demand from the unions and which will mean an investment of around 300 million euros.

Regarding resources — the "more staff" that teachers have tirelessly demanded in the streets — the Government and unions have agreed to introduce 6,400 new resources into the system over the next four years. These reinforcements will be mainly aimed at profiles such as integration specialists and social educators, special education specialists, or speech therapists.

On the other hand, a call for 5,000 secondary school professorship positions has also been approved between the years 2027 and 2028.