Teachers reject education department deal with more than 65% voting 'no'

Teachers in Catalonia have voted to reject a preliminary agreement reached last week between major teaching unions and the Department of Education, with 65.1% voting against the deal.

A total of 39,502 teachers voted "no," compared with 21,184 who backed the agreement.

Turnout was 61.1%, with 60,686 teachers taking part out of an eligible electorate of 99,305.

The vote was organised by trade unions, with USTEC and the Secondary Teachers' Union – both signatories to the pre-agreement – campaigning for a 'yes' vote, and CGT and Intersindical urging teachers to reject it.

The vote ran from Monday until Thursday noon, with teachers asked whether they accepted the pre-agreement reached on May 29.

Those voting against the deal were also asked to commit to taking whatever strike action may be necessary until the end of the academic year.

The result follows a similar consultation held after the education department reached an agreement with the CCOO and UGT unions in March.

On that occasion, 42,965 teachers took part, representing around 50% of the electorate, and 94.9% voted to reject the deal.

Pay rises and staffing commitments

The pre-agreement rejected by teachers was signed late on Friday night following more than two weeks of negotiations and several marathon bargaining sessions.

The package included a new monthly flat-rate supplement of €50 in 2026, rising to €52.25 in 2027, €103.30 in 2028 and €173.30 in 2029. Under the proposal, teachers would receive an additional €2,426.20 per year by 2029.

The supplement would have been added to a 30% increase in the specific salary complement already agreed in March.

The new deal brought forward its implementation to three years instead of four.

The increase would amount to €384 annually for primary school teachers and €389.50 for secondary school teachers, based on the contribution funded by the Catalan government alone.

Including salary increases agreed in Spain for public-sector workers, the rises would have been higher.

The agreement also included five years of back payments linked to seniority increments, known as sexennis.

Before 2012, teachers received these payments after six years of service, but austerity measures extended the qualifying period to nine years.

Although that change was reversed in 2024, unions had continued to demand compensation for the amounts lost during the intervening years, which the administration had accepted in the pre-agreement.

The deal also included the creation of 5,000 senior teaching posts for secondary school teachers over two years.

In addition, the department committed to creating 6,413 new inclusive education positions over four years, including 1,088 in the next academic year and 2,023 in the 2029–30 school year.

Strikes to continue

Teachers have been holding strikes and protests across Catalonia and on a more local level over the past number of weeks. 

A Catalonia-wide strike is scheduled for Friday.