"Supporting teachers means asking for a better future for our children": the last great mobilization of the school year

BarcelonaThis Sunday's is the last major mobilization of teachers before this course ends, and also the unions' last warning to the Government that the resumption of classes, in September, could be just as tumultuous if an agreement is not reached. Teachers and professors are once again taking to the streets this morning to force "a change in public education". And this time their aim is also to show the support of families and society.

Families have responded and Passeig de Gràcia has filled up this morning, not only with banners and yellow t-shirts, but also with fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, with strollers, under umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and applying sunscreen. Many, like Núria's family, have taken refuge in the shade of the trees, on the margins. "Today is the day to support them and demand respect and quality for public school. We must ask the Government to make a clear and firm commitment and show respect for the teams, the teaching staff, and the families who are also part of the educational project," claims Núria, who has come with her partner and her daughter, who is still in the 0-3 stage.

Oriol has come with a group of parents and children. "Supporting them is asking for a better future for our children," he assures. The demonstration is proceeding without incident, in a festive atmosphere and amidst shouts and chants against the Government and in favor of the school, the reduction of class sizes and the improvement of inclusive education. "By fighting, we are also educating," the teachers claim from the microphones.

The unions opposed to the agreement that was finally rejected, 10 days ago, that is, USTEC, CGT, CNT, COS and Intersindical have prepared a new "big demonstration" in the center of Barcelona that started at half past eleven at Jardinets de Gràcia and will end at Plaça Catalunya, where different speeches are planned to conclude the march. This new mobilization comes after 25 days of protests and only five days after the last demonstration, on Tuesday, which coincided with the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Barcelona and had much less following than previous protests.

Union representatives already warned on Friday that, if they do not feel heard by the executive, and specifically by the department led byMinister Esther Niubó, the next academic year will begin with more strikes and more street protests. From USTEC, its spokesperson, David Caño, assures that it is "very important" to "fill" the streets of Barcelona again this Sunday: "Education has hit rock bottom," he warned on Friday in a joint appearance with the rest of the unions, where he also recalled that the sector receives only 3%, half of the funding required by law (6% of GDP). Caño also calls for a new law for the sector in Catalonia.

For their part, CGT delegate Ingrid Chavarria encouraged society and especially the families that make up the educational community to take to the streets to "save the educational emergency." "We need everyone to defend the society we deserve, because education is the future of the country," she emphasizes. Chavarria also explained on Friday that the unions will ask parliamentary groups for more investment in education so that 6% of GDP is reached, as stipulated by the 2017 law. "If there is money to expand the airport and the train lines, for tourism macro-projects and for the Mossos, there must also be for public education," opines the CGT representative.

From Intersindical, spokesperson Marc Martorell also insisted on the importance of family support and stressed that Sunday's demonstration must serve to demonstrate that the struggle of education workers has "broad social support": "It's not just about our working conditions," they maintain from Intersindical.

20-J: another key date

Today's is the last mobilization of the course, but there is still another key date, June 20th. On this day, the educational sector has scheduled the educational assembly of Catalonia, which should serve to decide the roadmap for the next course, set priorities and strategy, and also define the new calendar of strikes and mobilizations if they consider it necessary. At the center of the debate, the unions put forward issues they consider "key" such as the role of Catalan, inclusion, the reduction of ratios, and the increase in the educational budget.

In recent months, tension has been escalating in the educational sector, and the culmination of it all was the rejection by teachers of the preliminary agreement between the majority unions and Education in a consultation in which more than 60,000 teachers participated (approximately 60% of the teachers and professors in the public education system) about ten days ago.

The last strike took place last Tuesday, coinciding with the arrival of Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona and the start of the university entrance exams. A demonstration was held in Barcelona between Plaça Espanya and the Parliament, which gathered 6,500 people according to the Guàrdia Urbana and 45,000 according to the organizers.