Valencian teachers increase pressure on the street: "We were expecting a call to negotiate"
The unions reproach the Valencian government for not having summoned them and are preparing protests throughout the week.
ValenciaThe standoff between the Valencian Ministry of Education and teachers continues on the second day of the strike, in which the teaching staff has once again prominently supported the protest. According to the Generalitat, participation was 35%. According to teachers' representatives, the percentage has risen to 75%.
Today has been a transitional day, in which unions were hoping the ministry would call them to negotiate. But it has not done so, and this inaction by the Generalitat – which has also made no statement about the strike throughout the day – has angered teachers. The most forceful has been the Union of Workers of Education of the Valencian Country (STEPV), which in a statement detailed that they are waiting for "a call or a summons to resume negotiations".
CCOO has expressed itself in the same vein, emphasizing that it is up to the ministry to call the unions to negotiate. "Not doing so signifies a lack of will to end the conflict," it stated.
STEPV has also accused the ministry of distorting reality when, on Monday, the autonomous secretary of Education, Daniel McEvoy, stated that the resumption of negotiations depends on the three unions that left the negotiating table last Thursday, referring to STEPV, CCOO, and UGT.
The union explained that it left the sectoral table due to what it considers "breaches of contract by the Valencian government", given that it "only" received a proposal for a salary increase, which it also described as "ridiculous" for consisting of only 75 euros gross per month over three years.
"Otherwise, indefinite strike"
Teachers denounce that the Generalitat's offer left aside the reduction of ratios, the improvement of infrastructure, the increases in staff, and the reinforcement of teaching in Valencian. STEPV has also argued that it is the "administration" that convenes the negotiation tables and has challenged it to do so "as soon as possible" and with "a proposal that the teaching staff can endorse". "Otherwise, the indefinite strike will continue," it has warned.
To pressure the Generalitat, and after a day of stalemate without major protests, given that the unions had reserved it for negotiation, teachers have called for demonstrations this Wednesday at the Ministry of Education and at the Palau de la Generalitat in Valencia, as well as at the Consell delegations in Alicante and Castelló de la Plana.
The forecast is that the mobilizations will continue on Thursday with demonstrations at the ministry's headquarters in the three Valencian capitals and with a joint demonstration on Friday in Valencia.