Education sector strike continues as unions denounce government's 'deceit'
Protesters against budget cuts block off major roads in Barcelona and march through city center
Education sector unions in Catalonia are once again on strike after failing to reach an agreement with authorities regarding changes to the school curriculum and academic calendar, with demonstrations called for both Tuesday and Wednesday.
These are the last two days of the 5-day strike against Catalan education department policies.
By Tuesday morning, protesters in Barcelona had already blocked off major streets, including parts of Gran Via, Avinguda Meridiana, and the Ronda Litoral ring road, demanding that Catalan education minister Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray step down.
Hours later demonstrators began to walk from Jardinets de Gràcia, at the top of Passeig de Gràcia avenue, to the education department headquarters.
According to authorities, 9.9% of teachers in public schools across Catalonia have gone on strike on Tuesday.
What are these protests about?
Teachers' unions are against the announced changes to the school curriculum, which include reducing hours of instruction of certain subjects, a greater focus on language learning and the development of technological skills, and modifying the grading scale, as well as starting the academic year a week earlier than usual.
And even though Cambray has stated that schools in Catalonia will not have to implement curriculum changes next academic year if they do not want to, this has not been enough to appease unions, who call out what they describe as the government's "deceit" following an unsuccessful round of talks with authorities.
Protesters are in favor of increased funding for public services and maintain the issue "is not about 5 vacation days" that would be lost if the academic year were to start a week earlier than usual, but rather about "10 years of budget cuts," and want to reduce the number of teaching hours per teacher to pre-2012 austerity measure levels.
They also say the Catalan language immersion system must be protected despite the Supreme Court ruling imposing a 25% Spanish language quota, with some arguing the bill backed by Esquerra, Catalunya en Comú, and the Socialists to protect the long-standing policy is insufficient.
The education department, meanwhile, says that they do not have the budget to meet each and every one of the unions' demands at once. A follow-up meeting between both parties is set for Thursday.