Teachers in Catalonia called a strike for September 8, the scheduled first day of the 2026 to 2027 school year, escalating pressure on the regional government over unresolved issues in public education. The decision was reached at the seventh Assembly of the Asamblea Educativa de Cataluña (AEC) in Sant Celoni, challenging the Department of Education’s assurances that the academic year would begin without disruption. USTEC and CGT called the stoppage, with La Intersindical also involved. Later coverage described thousands of teachers taking to the streets across Catalonia.
The assembly brought together representatives from USTEC and CGT, as well as Intersindical CNT and COS, alongside educators and other education-sector workers. AEC spokesperson Mònica Rodrigo said the strike was intended to press the Catalan government into urgent negotiations. The unions called for a negotiating table in July instead of waiting until September. Their demands included better pay and additional resources, along with measures to strengthen public, inclusive education in Catalan.
The September action followed spring mobilizations. Negotiations broke down, and talks did not resume over the summer. The unions behind the strike were not parties to agreements reached with other representative organizations. After the May mobilizations, negotiations were effectively deactivated, while the Govern considered the existing agreement phase closed. Union representatives said the conflict remained open and sought a new negotiating process.
The Govern, through the Department of Education and Vocational Training headed by Esther Niubó, pointed to measures it said had reinforced the system for the 2026 to 2027 school year: 1,100 additional teachers and 2,140 reception classrooms for newly arrived pupils. The unions argued that these measures were insufficient and had not resolved underlying workplace and system-wide problems. The dispute so concerns both the scale of public investment and whether staffing changes are improving conditions in classrooms.
About 80 people attended the assembly in person, including territorial delegates and teachers, as well as educational support staff and representatives from the leisure education sector. Organizers said the breadth of participation reflected concerns from across Catalonia. The dispute also involves unions beyond those that called the September stoppage. Later mobilization efforts included CNT and the Assemblea Educativa de Catalunya, with USTEC and CGT also involved; La Intersindical and COS joined them.
In a later consultation organized by USTEC and allied unions, 32,845 teachers took part. El Periódico reported that 50.2% opposed further strikes at that point, while 16,358 supported new stoppages, down from nearly 40,000 in a June consultation. Despite the reduced support, the unions proposed another demonstration involving the wider education community, along with a strike day during the academic term. They also linked their mobilization plans to the general strike scheduled for November 11.
The unions’ proposed escalation sits alongside a broader policy process led by the Consell Educatiu de Catalunya. Its president, Joan Manuel del Pozo, outlined a “pact of stability” aimed at raising education investment to 6% of Catalonia’s GDP over four years. The process was planned to begin with a listening phase through December. Deliberations would follow from January to March, with a report of proposed actions planned for April. USTEC criticized the approach as insufficiently direct, arguing that it did not replace immediate labor negotiations.
The strike announcement came amid wider labor disputes in Spain’s education sector over funding and working conditions, including examination procedures. A controversy in the Basque Country, for example, saw university staff back exam correctors in a legal dispute with students, as reported in coverage of the EHU exam dispute. Such conflicts show how disputes over education policy and working conditions can lead to collective action.
Spain’s education system is decentralized, leaving regional governments responsible for most policy decisions. In Catalonia, education policy intersects with debates over language and autonomy, as well as public investment. The September strike was intended to maintain pressure on the Govern, while later proposals for further action revealed continued union opposition and a divided teaching workforce. The basic dispute remains whether the administration’s resource measures and broader policy process can meet unions’ demands for concrete workplace improvements and renewed negotiations.
