Catalonia’s main teachers’ assembly warns of major school disruptions next year. Unresolved disputes over pay and conditions could halt classes from the first term. Tensions remain high after a year marked by strikes and failed agreements.
Schools across Catalonia are bracing for a turbulent start to the 2025-2026 academic year, as the Asamblea Educativa de Cataluña signals a new escalation in teachers’ protests. The group, which has become a central force in the region’s education sector unrest, announced after a meeting in Barcelona that large-scale mobilisations are planned from the very first term. The warning comes amid ongoing disputes over pay, class sizes, and investment in public education.
The assembly, which brings together teachers from various schools and grassroots collectives, has gained influence during a year marked by repeated strikes and demonstrations. Its latest meeting focused on evaluating the current standoff and mapping out strategies for the coming months. According to union sources, the group aims to strengthen its independent structure, operating outside traditional union leadership, to ensure that teachers’ demands are set and decided collectively.
Key demands include improved working conditions, salary increases, reduced student-to-teacher ratios, more resources for public schools, and a boost in education funding to approach 6% of Catalonia’s GDP. These issues have driven months of protests and negotiations, but many teachers remain dissatisfied with the pace and substance of official responses.
The latest round of unrest follows a school year that ended with 23 strikes in just six months. Although a new agreement was reached on May 29 between the Department of Education and several unions—CC OO, UGT, and Professors de Secundària (Aspepc)—the largest union, Ustec, refused to sign. This split has left many teachers feeling that their core concerns remain unaddressed, fueling further mobilisation.
Protests have spread across all four Catalan provinces, with educators citing lost purchasing power and increasingly complex classroom environments as major grievances. The assembly’s push for a more participatory, bottom-up approach reflects a broader shift in the region’s labour movement, as teachers seek to bypass established union hierarchies in favour of direct action and collective decision-making.
For context, Catalonia’s education sector has seen recurring disputes over funding and staffing for more than a decade. The region’s public education budget has struggled to recover from cuts imposed during the financial crisis, and recent inflation has further eroded teachers’ real wages. According to Spain’s Ministry of Education, Catalonia’s per-student spending remains below the national average, despite repeated calls for increased investment. The coming academic year now faces the risk of widespread disruption unless a new consensus can be reached between teachers, unions, and the regional government.
