Teachers protest in Central Catalonia, Ponent, and Alt Pirineu on third day of strike

Teachers blocked roads across Central Catalonia, Ponent, and Alt Pirineu on Wednesday, the third day of decentralized strikes.

The first disruptions occurred around 7 am on the A-2 motorway between Lleida and Alpicat and at Soses, according to the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT).

At 7:45 am, roughly 150 protesters blocked the same highway near Alcarràs, initially in the direction of Barcelona and later in both directions.

Around the same time, more than 100 teachers halted traffic on the C-55 in Manresa, closing both lanes.

Additional roadblocks were reported on the C-16 in Berga, the C-59 in Moià, and the N-260 in La Seu d'Urgell.

A slow-moving motorcade also traveled from Osona to Bages along the C-25.

Rosa Aguilar, a spokesperson for the USTEC union in Ponent, said they were "more mobilized than ever" and added that actions of this scale have not been seen since 1988.

Jordi Barrufet, the Lleida secretary for the Secondary School Teachers union criticized the government's pact with the CCOO and UGT unions as having been reached "behind teachers' backs," calling it a "betrayal." 

Week of strikes

Teachers in different parts of Catalonia are striking on different days before a full strike on Friday.

Thousands of teachers took to the streets of central Barcelona on Monday to demand improved working conditions and higher salaries, criticizing an agreement between the education department and the unions CCOO and UGT as insufficient.

Other unions – USTEC, Professors de Secundària, and CGT – did not sign the pact and maintained their calls for strike action this week, joined by the Intersindical union.

Teachers from Camp de Tarragona, Terres de l'Ebre, and Penedès blocked major roads and access to the Port of Tarragona on Tuesday.