Massive mobilization of teachers: "We are educating the future with resources from the past"

BarcelonaTeachers have made their voices heard by taking to the streets en masse in what unions have called a "historic" day. This Wednesday, four out of ten teachers supported the strike called jointly by the unions, according to the Catalan government's count. However, unions have put the participation rate for the strike in schools and institutes across the country at 85%. This powerful mobilization by Catalan school professionals—not only teachers, but also educational support staff and leisure workers—aimed to make four very clear demands heard: a general salary increase to bring Catalan teachers' working conditions in line with those in the rest of Spain, a reduction in class sizes, and a decrease in bureaucratic procedures in schools and institutes. Across the country, thousands of teachers took to the streets simultaneously in a mobilization that included highway and road blockades early this morning, large columns of teachers marching through cities, and four major demonstrations in Barcelona, ​​Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. In fact, the protest drew over 70,000 participants throughout Catalonia, according to police estimates, and around 100,000 according to the organizing unions: Ustec, Aspepc, CCOO, CGT, and UGT. The mass mobilization began Tuesday night with teachers closing about fifty schools and institutes and continued this morning. Between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m., some teachers blocked traffic on a dozen roads across Catalonia, causing significant traffic disruptions during rush hour. Among the most notable road closures are those on the Ronda Litoral ring road in Barcelona, ​​which protesters have occupied for over an hour, as well as the AP-7 highway in Girona, the C-31 in Hospitalet de Llobregat, and the C-37 in Valls.

The chaos on the roads has been followed by the "sabotage" of some fifty educational centers – according to the unions – where entrances were blocked with pickets and door locks were disabled with silicone. Furthermore, informational pickets have been set up at most schools and institutes across the country to explain the reasons for the protest to families bringing their children to school. It should be noted that, despite not holding classes normally, schools and institutes have had to comply with the minimum services established by the Generalitat (Catalan government), which stipulated one teacher for every three classrooms in preschool, primary, and secondary schools, and 33% of the staff in daycare centers. These services have been labeled "abusive" by the unions.

A Yellow Tide

At midday, it was time for the large demonstrations, which, according to police estimates, brought together 25,000 teachers in Barcelona, ​​11,000 in Girona, 5,000 in Lleida, and 4,500 in Tarragona. The vast majority of the teachers who participated in the demonstrations marched through the streets of their cities in large columns that departed from schools and institutes to converge at the starting point. In Barcelona, ​​teachers and professors flooded the Diagonal Avenue with a sea of ​​yellow t-shirts, reminiscent of other large and historic demonstrations for public education. From Passeig de Gràcia to Aribau Street, this Barcelona thoroughfare was filled with homemade banners, which overshadowed the union flags that led the march.

"We came with our son because he also experiences this problem in the classroom," explained Marc and Nayara, teachers from La Roca del Vallès and Les Franqueses, respectively, who had come to the demonstration with their son Asier. Perched on his father's neck, the six-year-old held up a banner that read: "Don't play with us." "I carry him with me, but the burden of bureaucracy in schools is even greater," Marc asserted. And he insisted: "All our efforts go unrecognized, and that impacts the classroom."

In fact, many of the protesters chose to attend the march with their children, who carried cardboard signs with messages written in markers and crayons, ranging from "We love teachers" and "Vocation doesn't justify precarious work" to forceful calls directed at the regional education minister. Furthermore, many groups of young teachers were also among the protesters, turning the demonstration into a festive event. Among them was Carla, a substitute teacher for the past three years. Her message was very clear: "Enough is enough, we want better pay!" she repeated, megaphone in hand.

However, although the unions had insisted that a salary increase was "a red line," the main complaint on the streets was the lack of staff and resources in the classroom. In fact, the slogan "We're educating the future with resources from the past" was repeated on several of the hundreds of banners held atop the yellow tide. Agustí, a teacher for eighteen years, insisted that they are facing overcrowded classrooms and an increasing complexity in the students' situations. "There are many students with special needs, there's a lot of immigration, which brings with it a different sociocultural and socioeconomic level that also needs to be addressed... We talk a lot about inclusion when what's really needed is more human resources," he says.

A proposal for improvement next week

The demonstration in Barcelona ended in front of the Department of Education, with thousands of teachers chanting slogans against the ministry. Upon their arrival, the government "invited" a representative from each union to collect their manifesto, but not to negotiate. "We still have nothing," the union representatives admitted at midday as they left the department. In fact, the back-and-forth between the unions and the Department of Education was constant throughout the day, as some confusion arose about the status of the negotiations.

While the unions maintained that the regional government was not making any proposals to them, the Department of Education appeared to defend its position, stating that it does have a proposal, which it will present to the unions at the next sectoral meeting on February 19th. The Secretary for Educational Improvement, Ignasi Giménez, asserted that the proposal they will put forward will represent "a turning point" in reaching an agreement. He explained that the proposal includes an increase in the regional supplement, which is a first step towards resolving a situation "that hasn't been addressed in twenty years." Furthermore, he affirmed that the department is determined to continue strengthening inclusive education, but insisted that the budget must be approved before all the proposals can be implemented. The Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, spoke this morning about the teachers' strike, despite having been on medical leave for a week following a procedure. "Today's strike by the education community is a cry for recognition of a profession that requires the full support of the Government," Niubó stated in a message to X. She admitted that the department understands and shares "the demands to strengthen the education system" and that they maintain "a willingness to engage in dialogue with the unions" to reach a social agreement. Given this scenario, the unions ended the day asserting that they will continue their protests. "Ideally, we wouldn't have to call these strikes, but if we don't take action in the streets, they won't do anything in the offices either," Iolanda Segura declared. The spokesperson for Ustec—the largest union—warned that "the school year will not end normally" if they don't reach an agreement.