Thousands of teachers protest across Catalonia in fresh strike action

Thousands of teachers took part in protests across Catalonia on Wednesday on another day of strike action. 

In Barcelona, 7,000 teachers, according to local police, (15,000 according to the USTEC union) took to the streets.

Teachers gathered at 10am in Pla de Palau and marched to Drassanes Square. Police pre-emptively closed the Ronda Litoral, one of the city's main ring roads, to prevent the demonstration from reaching it.

Union representatives from the USTEC, Secondary School Teachers, CGT and Intersindical unions took part in the march, which comes ahead of a scheduled meeting with the education department.

Representatives said some progress had been made in negotiations, but that it remained insufficient.

Teachers blocked the AP-7 motorway in Salt, Torredembarra and Granollers, and the A-2 in Lleida.

More than 3,000 people demonstrated in Girona, according to police figures, while unions say turnout reached 6,000.

Teachers are calling for less bureaucracy, smaller class sizes, better support for inclusive education, higher pay, and more investment in school maintenance.

Minister "optimistic"

Catalonia's Education Minister Esther Niubó has said she is "optimistic" about negotiations with unions and believes an agreement is now "closer" than a week ago.

Speaking to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, she called again on unions involved in the strike to join the agreement already signed with the CCOO and UGT unions.

"I don’t know if it will be days or weeks; I would like it to be days," she said.

Niubó acknowledged "there are reasons" behind teachers' strike action, but said the issues on the table are not new, describing them as the result of years of "accumulated fatigue, underfunding and lack of investment."

She added that the government has heard these demands and has responded significantly.

Wednesday marked the second Catalonia-wide strike this month, on top of regional strikes.