Catalonia’s basic education union confirmed a strike on September 8, and it went ahead. Talks with the government stalled over working conditions and class sizes, with language policy also in dispute.
The education union USTEC confirmed that its planned strike on September 8 would go ahead, putting the start of the 2026 to 2027 school year in Catalonia at risk of disruption. The stoppage was ultimately held on the first day of classes, after negotiations failed to resume during the summer. USTEC called the action alongside CGT, with Intersindical also involved. It drew thousands of teachers to demonstrations across Catalonia. With just two weeks before classes resumed, union spokesperson Iolanda Segura said the Department of Education had not responded to repeated calls to restart negotiations.
In recent weeks, the Catalan government had focused on discussions with school leaders and families, temporarily setting aside the labor dispute with teachers. Segura said this approach had left basic issues unresolved. USTEC had been waiting since June 13 for the authorities to accept its proposal for talks, she said, warning that partial measures and limited agreements would not address the underlying problems in the education sector. The unions later described the conflict as still open and called for genuine negotiations on working conditions and resources for public education.
USTEC’s priorities include improvements to inclusive education and lower student-to-teacher ratios. The union also wants stronger protections for the Catalan language in schools. It has demanded a clear timeline for structural reforms, citing concerns such as classroom temperatures that can reach 42 degrees Celsius. Its broader demands echo calls for a public education system that is inclusive and taught in Catalan, while union leaders have argued that a concrete plan is needed to ease dissatisfaction among education professionals.
During the first trimester of the academic year covered by the dispute, Catalonia’s education sector saw 23 days of strike action. Some unions have accepted agreements with the government, including a long-awaited update to the regional pay supplement, now set at €700 per month. A separate agreement package signed with CCOO and UGT, alongside the Professors de Secundària union, includes reported measures to raise teachers’ salaries by about €400 per month over four years and hire 6,400 additional professionals. It also begins reducing student-to-teacher ratios in compulsory secondary education. USTEC and other critical unions have considered those measures insufficient, and the September stoppage did not end the dispute.
The division over further action was evident in an October union-backed consultation involving 32,845 teachers: 16,358 supported new strikes, while 50.2% opposed additional stoppages at that time. That contrasted with a June consultation in which nearly 40,000 teachers backed continued strike action. The teaching workforce was reported at around 96,000 professionals, and roughly 10,000 of those supporting renewed action preferred one or two days of stoppage. USTEC and allied unions nevertheless proposed both a demonstration and another strike during the first trimester. The proposed mobilization was due for discussion by the Assemblea Educativa de Catalunya. They also discussed coordinating their campaign with the planned November 11 general strike.
Alongside the immediate labor dispute, the Consell Educatiu de Catalunya is pursuing a longer-term stability pact for the education system. The council brings together the administration and education community, with social actors and political parties also represented. It has backed a target of investing 6% of GDP in education. Its planned process includes a listening phase through Christmas, followed by a deliberation phase continuing until March. That is a longer institutional timetable than the negotiations sought by USTEC.
The Catalan government has appealed to all parties to consider children’s right to education and expressed its willingness to use all available resources to resolve the situation. Government spokesperson Sílvia Paneque reiterated this commitment after the last executive council meeting before the summer break. The government’s agreements with some unions point to measures already underway, while USTEC’s continuing calls for negotiations reflect the gap between those measures and the demands of unions that did not sign them.
Education-sector labor disputes are not unique to Catalonia. Across Spain, similar tensions have emerged in recent years, often centered on funding and staffing, as well as working conditions. The standoff highlights the broader challenges facing regional administrations as they balance the demands of teachers and families while policymakers weigh competing priorities. Debates over public services and infrastructure also remain a recurring theme in Catalan politics, as shown by the government’s recent consideration of reintroducing tolls on the AP-7 motorway to address congestion issues, a topic explored in detail in this related report.
The September 8 strike became one stage in a continuing campaign, rather than a resolution of the dispute. By late October, unions were still seeking a new negotiating process and weighing further mobilization. The consultation results showed a divided workforce on whether to strike again.
