USTEC launches a new consultation to all teachers so that they decide whether to return to strike

BarcelonaOne month after the Government signed an improvement in conditions for teachers and the situation in classrooms with CCOO and UGT –but not with the rest of the unions or USTEC, which is the majority one–, the agreement continues to have repercussions. This Tuesday USTEC sent all teachers a new email to ask again if they should continue with the mobilizations. Just as the union did in the last strikes that achieved massive support, USTEC has decided to leave the next steps to be taken "in the hands of the collective." In this way, they ask teachers three questions: if they are willing to go on "more strikes," how many strike days they would take –with options ranging from one day to more than 10–, and what type of strike they would prefer.

The union proposes that the consultation "should serve to decide whether to repeat a cycle of strikes like the one in March or to take a step further and prepare an indefinite strike." The majority union in the education sector calls on the Government to reopen negotiations beyond the agreement reached with CCOO and UGT, but also raises its demands: it asks for a salary improvement this current academic year and, for the next one, a deployment of "effective measures to strengthen educational quality," mentioning the reduction of class sizes, more resources to support students, and a reduction in bureaucracy. "A new cycle of strikes is a central tool if we really want to have the necessary strength to force the department to rectify," the union assures in a statement.

The school boards respond

While unions and Education remain at an impasse regarding negotiations, both school faculties and families themselves have also begun to take sides. On one hand, after the Government sent a letter last week to families of public and subsidized schools detailing the agreement with CCOO and UGT (which included the salary that teachers will receive), the faculties of around 200 public schools and institutes have now sent their response to families. In a bulletin very similar to the one the Government sent to families' emails, the faculties present the information as a "contrast of measures".

"It is not about confronting, but about providing context and transparency," they argue before breaking down the aspects of the measures that they believe are not clear in the Education email. For example, they criticize that the economic agreement falls far short of the 6% GDP investment stipulated by the Catalan Education Law, and that this translates into a "lack of support professionals, limited resources to address diversity, and schools that continue to operate at their limit".

They also denounce that the assertion that by 2029 Catalan teachers will be among the highest paid in the State – with an increase of 3,000 gross annual euros – does not take into account that during this time other communities will also raise salaries and that the increase will depend on "having an approved budget each year". Furthermore, in the bulletin they warn that the compensation of 50 euros per night foreseen for teachers only considers two teachers per group, when in early childhood education a ratio of 1 adult for every 8 children is needed, and normally, groups consist of more than 16 children.

The AFAs are moving up a gear

Precisely the threat of stopping excursions and overnight stays as a pressure measure that more than 500 schools have already announced for the next academic year has also prompted some AFAs to take action, who, while supporting the teachers' demands, warn that leaving students without outings would increase inequalities.

This is the case of the AFA of the Institut Escola Pallerola in Sant Celoni, which last week issued a statement asking the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, to sit down and negotiate with the teachers and insisted that overnight stays are part of learning. "The opportunity arose to make a manifesto and declare: hey, we agree with you [the teachers], but not that you leave us without overnight stays," details Sònia del Rio, a mother from IE Pallerola and AFA member. She explains that among the AFAs of the centers in Sant Celoni, a lot of work has been done with the town hall to ensure that all children can go on overnight stays and that not doing so now would be a grievance, especially for vulnerable students.

Beyond excursions and overnight stays, the AFA of Pallerola, but also several AFAs from Maresme, Baix Llobregat, and Vallès, have positioned themselves in favor of teachers to demand improvements in their conditions and in the education system in general. "We believe that what they are demanding is fair because we see that in the day-to-day of the school there is a lack of resources [in their case, they have been waiting for a new building for seven years], and we see that there is a lack of staff for inclusive education. In the end, everything falls on the motivation, the will, and the hours that the teachers put in," del Rio defends.

In fact, the AFA also views with disapproval that Education has sent information directly to families about the agreement. "They cannot communicate an agreement if a large part of it does not agree with it," warns the AFA member.