Barcelona is at the centre of a new teachers’ strike across Catalonia today, Friday, after staff overwhelmingly rejected a proposed education agreement with the Generalitat’s Departament d’Educació. The action has brought protests to the city and other parts of the region, with another strike planned for Tuesday, 9 June.
The vote saw 65.1% of participating teachers reject the pre-agreement, with 39,502 no votes out of 60,686 ballots cast from a census of 99,305. The strike was called by USTEC, CGT and Intersindical. Professors de Secundària, also known as Aspepc, later withdrew its support after its members backed the deal.
Consellera d’Educació Esther Niubó said on RAC1 that negotiations had ended. She said the pre-agreement had the backing of four of the five majority unions in the sector. CGT and Intersindical are now calling for her immediate dismissal.
In Barcelona, union figures said about 90,000 teachers joined the protest, gathering at Ciutadella Park and outside the Parlament. Demonstrators carried banners calling for better pay, more resources and stronger inclusion, while chants were directed at Niubó and Generalitat president Salvador Illa. Columns also arrived from Vallès Occidental, Vallès Oriental, Maresme and Baix Llobregat, where teachers cut the Ronda Litoral near Passeig de la Zona Franca and occupied the territorial services office of the Departament d’Educació in Barcelonès before heading towards Estació de França.
The rejected deal included a new salary supplement of €50 in 2026, rising to €173 after three years, by 2029. It also proposed 5,000 new teaching posts within two years, a 30% rise in a specific salary supplement over three years, and around 6,400 endowments. Some measures, including student-teacher ratios, were already part of a March agreement with CCOO and UGT. Those ratios set a maximum of 20 pupils per primary classroom, 25 in secondary and 30 in baccalaureate.
The strike is also affecting other public services. Library workers, called by CGT, have extended their action across Catalonia and are closing facilities. The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is looking for extra teaching and research staff to supervise the PAU exams next week, in case secondary school teachers are absent. Traffic was also hit, with the C-31 near Badalona closed in both directions for a time, causing queues of up to 2 kilometres, according to the Servei Català de Trànsit.
Another general strike is planned for Tuesday, 9 June, the same day as the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Barcelona and the start of the PAU exams. The Mossos d’Esquadra say they will deploy one of their largest security operations for the papal visit, with 5,600 officers across most specialities. Intendent Joan Salamaña, general coordinator of the Albus operation, said police will act with prudence and dialogue. The anti-terrorist alert level remains at 4 out of 5.
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