The Catalan government has struck a significant deal with two of the region’s main trade unions to increase teacher salaries, reduce class sizes, and boost investment in inclusive education. However, the agreement has failed to win over the majority teachers’ union, which has branded the offer an “insult” and confirmed it will proceed with a week of planned strikes.

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These talks followed a massive strike in mid-February. Teachers then walked out over pay and working conditions, demanding a significant pay rise to avert further action in March. The accord, signed on Monday at the Palau de la Generalitat between the government and unions CC.OO. and UGT, brings an end to weeks of fraught negotiations.

A ‘Historic’ €2 Billion Agreement

According to statements reported by Europa Press, the agreement represents a global investment of €2 billion. The deal’s central pillar is a 30% increase in the specific salary supplement paid by the Generalitat de Catalunya to Catalonia’s 97,000 teachers. The government will phase in this increase by 2029, which will raise the annual supplement to €3,000. Unions say this will lift Catalan teachers from being among the lowest-paid in Spain to the third-highest.

The deal also addresses key classroom concerns, including:

  • Reduced Class Sizes: The agreement will lower ratios across all educational stages, targeting 20 pupils per class in the second cycle of infant and primary education. The plan also includes reductions for secondary, baccalaureate, and vocational training (FP).
  • Inclusive Education: The pact allocates nearly €300 million for inclusive education resources. Crucially, pupils with recognised special educational support needs (NESE A) will now count as two students when calculating class ratios.
  • Support Staff Pay: The deal includes a 20% salary increase for the Department of Education‘s non-teaching labour staff, including Educational Support Personnel (PAE) and Administration and Services (PAS).
  • Overnight Trips: Teachers will receive €50 per night to compensate for supervising overnight school trips. This contentious issue recently saw schools threaten to cancel excursions due to a lack of payment.

A Divided Union Front

Leaders from CC.OO. and UGT hailed the agreement as a landmark achievement. Lorena Martínez of UGT called it “the beginning of a great advance,” stating that the department had accepted almost all of the unions’ demands. Ester Vila Guillamet of CC.OO. praised the “significant” reduction in class sizes and new measures to reduce bureaucracy for teachers.

“This is a historic agreement that dignifies our labour personnel,” added Cesca Pérez of CC.OO., referencing the pay rise for support staff.

Despite this, the region’s largest teachers’ union, USTEC·STEs, along with the secondary school union ASPEPC·SPS, have refused to sign. The two unions represent a majority of teachers but only 23% of the total negotiating table when all education staff are included.

Iolanda Segura, a spokesperson for USTEC, dismissed the salary component as insufficient. “It amounts to 200 gross euros over four years,” she told reporters, calling it “an insult.” As reported by La Vanguardia, Segura confirmed that the union would maintain its planned week of strikes from 16 to 20 March. “It is a political and ideological agreement with which we cannot agree,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Ignacio Fernández of ASPEPC·SPS criticised the deal for omitting other key demands, such as promotions to senior teaching posts (cátedras) and resolving back-pay issues related to seniority bonuses (sexenios).

Uncertainty Lingers Despite Deal

While the government has secured a significant political victory by reaching a deal, the rejection by the most prominent teachers’ union means the conflict is far from over. The week-long strike planned for mid-March threatens to cause major disruption across Catalonia’s schools.

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the Acting Minister for Education, Albert Dalmau, alongside union leaders from CC.OO. and UGT, attended the formal signing of the ‘Country Agreement for Education’ (Acord de País per l’Educació). The government is proceeding with the implementation of the agreement, but will now have to manage a deeply divided workforce and the looming threat of industrial action.