Teachers strike on first day of school to demand reversal of budget cuts 

Wednesday was the first day of school for over 1.6 million students across Catalonia, a day that was also marked by strikes as teachers continue to demand a reversal of the budget cuts that have plagued the sector for years. 

In Barcelona, several hundred teachers congregated at Plaça Urquinaona square in the city center to criticize the Catalan education department's policies.

They then made their way down Via Laietana avenue to Plaça Sant Jaume, the site of the Catalan government headquarters. 

Organized by the USTEC, CGT, and Intersindical unions, protesters complained the new Catalan education minister, Anna Simó, who replaced Josep González Cambray three months ago, has been unwilling to continue negotiating with them, and they denounced what they see as the privatization of the sector. 

Other demands include "recovering the working conditions lost more than 12 years ago" during the financial crisis, salary increases to counter the loss of purchasing power, safeguarding jobs, and strengthening the Catalan language immersion system.  

Diego Mendoza, a USTEC trade union member who attended the protest, said: "We need to improve resources for public schools."

"The state gives money to private schools and this is the reason for segregation," Ingrid Chavarria, a teacher and CGT delegate, told Catalan News. "What we need is for all the money to go towards public education."

Only 0.89% of education sector professionals went on strike in the morning, Catalan government sources said around midday, according to information provided by 61% of schools.  Later in the day, the figure increased to 0.99%, with information provided by 94.07% of schools by 5:30 pm.