No agreement in the second meeting on the sixth day of the indefinite strike of teachers in the Valencian Community

ValenciaNo agreement. The second meeting between the Ministry of Education and Valencian unions will conclude with positions still far apart and will not serve to end an indefinite strike that has already lasted six days and continues to enjoy broad support, as demonstrated by the fact that this Monday, according to Generalitat data, 39.7% of teachers have supported it.

Although progress has been made in other areas, the gap between the ministry and the teaching staff remains wide on key issues such as salary. While the Union of Workers and Workers of Education of the Valencian Country (STEPV) – the majority in the sector – is demanding an increase of between 486 and 550 euros per month, the ministry has offered 120 – the first proposal was 75 over three years –. According to the Generalitat, this would place 70% of Valencian public teachers as the fourth best-paid in the State. The remaining 30%, those without seniority, would be the ninth. Thus, the salary of an early childhood and primary school teacher without seniority would be 36,436 gross annual euros and that of a secondary school teacher in the same conditions, 40,630 euros.

The number of students per classroom is another point of contention: while the ministry is committed to reducing it in early childhood education to 22 – it is currently 25 –, unions like STEPV are requesting 15. Regarding the rest of the stages, the Generalitat plans to adopt what is dictated by a decree being processed by the Spanish government and which depends on its approval in Congress. The rule would set a ratio of 22 students in primary and 25 in secondary. For the remaining stages, no figure is detailed and the decision is postponed to a regulation that would have to be developed in the future. For the majority union, the maximum number of students should be 20 in primary and secondary and 25 in baccalaureate and vocational training.

Where positions are closer is in areas such as the reduction of bureaucracy, for which last week the ministry already proposed 13 measures, to which this Monday it has added compensation of hours for the management team. To speed up staff substitutions, the Council has presented a plan that would assign each school between half and one additional teacher as a stable resource for "advance substitution" in case of absence.

To pressure the Generalitat to soften its positions, 1,200 management team members – out of a total of 2,930 – have threatened to resign if Monday's meeting does not conclude with an agreement. A threat that everything suggests they will have to fulfill.