Teachers' strike: road closures and access to Barcelona blocked on the first day of protests

BarcelonaThe week of strikes in the education sector The strike began this Monday with several road blockades and access routes to Barcelona, ​​affecting traffic until after 9:00 AM, when the protests began to disperse. Striking teachers blocked the C-31 highway on the border between Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs and the Gran Via near Can Batlló in Barcelona from shortly after 7:00 AM. At 7:30 AM, another group blocked the Ronda de Dalt ring road near Valldaura, although they were dispersed by the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) shortly afterward. They also blocked the A-2 highway in Cornellà de Llobregat. Regarding activity in schools and institutes, the Catalan government has released an initial assessment of the strike's impact: with data from 19.45% of the schools where the strike was called, 7% of teachers participated. This assessment will now be updated as more schools submit their teacher participation data.

Returning to the street protests, in the case of the Ronda de Dalt ring road, the demonstrators had gathered near Vall d'Hebron Hospital, but encountered a heavy police presence and officers began checking the identities of protesters. In response, they moved to Valldaura, where they ultimately blocked the road in both directions. Ustec, the largest union in the education sector, demanded explanations from the Catalan government regarding the police intervention and warned that they would escalate the conflict if the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) "touch a single teacher": "We will closely monitor violations of the right to protest and to strike," the organization warned in a statement.

"Give orders to the Mossos d'Esquadra not to charge at any of the protests we have underway. At the slightest instance of police brutality, we will escalate the conflict. We are prepared to paralyze the country," added Iolanda Segura, national spokesperson for Ustec, in a message addressed to the Minister of the Presidency, Albert.

In Badalona, ​​around 200 protesters walked along the highway access ramp until they reached and blocked the road, in a protest that lasted about an hour. Meanwhile, on Barcelona's Gran Via, more than a hundred people blocked traffic in both directions, chanting "education strike." The protesters at this latter blockade carried banners with messages such as "Fighting is also educating," "Performing miracles isn't on the curriculum," and "Public and quality education," according to ACN. Initially, there was no police presence, but shortly after the blockade began, about eight Mossos d'Esquadra vans arrived. Some buses and private vehicles leaving Barcelona for the Baix Llobregat region turned around to find alternative routes. However, many vehicles were stopped on the road leading into the Catalan capital.

The mobilization comes on the first day of the localized strikes called this week by Ustec, Secondary School Teachers, CGT, and Intersindical, in response to the "insufficient" agreement between the Education Ministry and CCOO and UGT. This Monday, the strike covers teachers in the Barcelonès and Baix Llobregat regions and will culminate in a central rally at 12:30 pm in Plaça Urquinaona. On Friday, the strike will take place throughout Catalonia.