Councillor Esther Niubó returns to work after two months of leave

BarcelonaThe Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, will return to office next Tuesday, after being on medical leave for two months, as reported by La Vanguardia and confirmed by ARA. Niubó will rejoin the first Government Council after Easter, on April 7.

The minister will return to work at one of the most tense moments in recent years in the educational world. During her absence — she announced she was stepping down on February 1 — the main unions in the sector have called two major strikes that have been supported by almost 40% of Catalan teachers. In fact, what the Government branded as a "national pact" for education signed with CCOO and UGT, but with the rejection of USTEC (the majority force), materialized with Niubó on leave and the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, at the head of the department. Also during the minister's absence, the Director General of State-funded and Private Schools, Xavier Güell, has resigned for personal reasons.

Although Dalmau has been Niubó's official substitute, one of the faces that has most represented the Department of Education in the last two months has been the Secretary of Educational Improvement, Ignasi Giménez. In fact, Giménez has been an active part and the most visible face in negotiations with the unions, even though he has held the position for less than six months.

Negotiation with unions and directors

Niubó returns to the Via Augusta office to face the third quarter with unions that are already warning that they will not allow the school year to end normally. USTEC, Secondary School Teachers, CGT, and Intersindical insist that if negotiations on the agreement signed with CCOO and UGT in early March are not reopened, they will mobilize again. The pact they reject includes, among other things, 3,000 euros more in salary over the next four years, payment for school trips, and 300 million for inclusive education.

The agreement, however, also includes a change that all unions view favorably, but that school and institute principals have already harshly criticized. The pact foresees reducing profiled positions (those that can be filled by interviewing teachers) to 3% and limiting the capacity of principals to choose teachers in very specific cases. For this reason, Niubó will also have to deal with the more than 300 principals who have stated they are against the changes in the allocation of teaching positions have filed an internal appeal for the Government to withdraw it.