The Department of Education announces that there will be no regional teacher transfer competition this year.

BarcelonaA plot twist has occurred in the Catalan education system's teacher network. As ARA has learned, there will be no regional teacher transfer competition this academic year. Normally, transfer competitions for teachers in Catalonia's public schools and institutes depend on the biennial call for applications issued by the central government. However, some regions organize their own competitions in years when there is no national call. In Catalonia, the regional call for applications had not been opened for over 20 years, and the Department of Education... It was announced in March that the system would be reinstated in the 2025-2026 academic year. In practical terms, the Catalan education system would hold a teacher transfer competition every year.Finally, this Thursday the regional education ministry informed the unions that the competition will not be held this academic year. Sources within the ministry defend the decision, arguing that "the priority is the stability of the teaching staff and ensuring that personnel policies allow for the consolidation of educational projects in schools." They emphasize that the last national teacher transfer competition resulted in the allocation of more than 16,000 permanent positions. These same sources assert that many school principals "have expressed the need to return to a year of calm and internal stability" after an intense period marked by the stabilization processes and the impact of the last national competition. The regional ministry also explains its "commitment" to adding the positions that would have been offered this year in the regional competition to next year's call for applications, with the aim of addressing the needs of the teaching staff. Furthermore, they detail that "looking ahead" they will study the possibility of alternating regional and national competitions. They also affirm their "commitment" to ending the legislative term with high percentages of staff holding permanent positions "as a fundamental pillar for improving the education system."

Cycle of strikes in February

The Catalan Ministry of Education announced the change to the teacher transfer process this Thursday at a meeting with unions. This meeting, which the unions had initially demanded, was intended to discuss pay increases following the recent changes. massive teachers' demonstration on November 15Upon leaving the meeting, the unions—USTEC·STEs (IAC), Secondary School Teachers (ASPEPC-SPS), CCOO, CGT, and UGT—jointly announced a series of strikes by education staff beginning February 11. They asserted that "the department arrived without any proposals regarding salaries, even though this was the scheduled topic for this first round of negotiations." They also criticized the regional education ministry for "failing to propose any significant measures on the other joint demands to improve working conditions and the quality of public education," such as reducing class sizes, increasing staffing levels to better serve students, reducing bureaucracy, promoting democracy in schools, and addressing rumors. "You can't talk about improving public education while continuing to impoverish its staff," criticized USTEC spokesperson Iolanda Segura.

In terms of pay, the unions are demanding the establishment of a salary clause that "guarantees the annual updating of salaries in accordance with inflation," as well as an increase in salary supplements that "compensates for the loss of purchasing power over the last 15 years, with the current proposal being 0%."

Despite the strike announcement, the unions have warned that the Department of Education "still has time" to avert it if it presents "real" improvements in the upcoming negotiation sessions, scheduled for January 8 and 22, and February 5 and 19. "If there is political will, the strike can be avoided; if not, conflict is inevitable," Segura concluded.