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 transfer competition this academic year. Normally, transfer competitions for teachers in Catalonia's public schools and institutes depend on the call for applications issued by the central government every two years. However, some regions organize their own competitions in years when there is no national call for applications. In Catalonia, this regional call for applications had not been opened for over 20 years, and in March the Department of Education... He announced that this 2025-2026 academic year would bring it back, so that, in practical terms, the Catalan education system would have a teacher transfer competition every year.Finally, this Thursday the regional education ministry informed the unions that the regional transfer process will not take place this year, as previously announced. 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 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 Department of Education announced the change to the transfer process this Thursday at a meeting with the unions. This meeting, which the unions had initially demanded to discuss pay increases, follows the massive demonstration of teachers on November 15thUpon leaving the meeting, the unions—USTEC·STEs (IAC), Secondary School Teachers (ASPEPC-SPS), CCOO, CGT, and UGT—jointly announced a series of strikes by educational 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 democratic governance in schools, and addressing rumors. "It's a public sector while its staff continues to be impoverished," criticized Ustec spokesperson Iolanda Segura. Regarding pay, the unions are demanding a salary clause that "guarantees annual salary increases in line with inflation," as well as an increase in bonuses that "compensates for the loss of purchasing power over the last 15 years, with the current proposal of zero." Despite the strike announcement, the unions have warned that the Department of Education "still has time" if it presents "real" improvements at the upcoming negotiation sessions scheduled for January 8th and 22nd, and February 5th and 19th. "If there is political will, the strike can be avoided; if not, conflict is inevitable," Segura concluded.