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

ValenciaNo agreement. The second meeting between the Ministry of Education and Valencian unions will end with positions still far apart and will not serve to end an indefinite strike that already totals 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 joined it.

Although progress has been made in other areas, the gap between the ministry and teachers remains large on key issues such as salary. While the Union of Workers in 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, with this, 70% of Valencian public school teachers would be the fourth best paid in the State. The remaining 30%, those without seniority, would be the ninth. Thus, the salary of an infant and primary school teacher without seniority would be 36,436 gross annual euros and that of a secondary school teacher under the same conditions, 40,630 euros.

The number of students per classroom is another point of disagreement: while the ministry aims to lower it in early childhood education to 22 – it is now 25 – unions like STEPV are asking for 15. As for the other stages, the Generalitat plans to adopt what is dictated by a decree being processed by the Spanish government, 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 figures are detailed, and the decision is postponed to a regulation that should 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 reducing bureaucracy, for which the ministry already proposed 13 measures last week, to which this Monday it has added compensation of hours for the management team. To speed up staff substitutions, the Consell has presented a plan that would assign each school between half and one additional teacher as a stable resource for "anticipated 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.