State School Teachers in the Valencia Are Preparing an Indefinite Strike — Starting 11 May

Teachers at state schools across the Valencian Community are preparing an indefinite strike. The first protests will take place from 11 to 15 May. The week's main event will be a large demonstration in Valencia on 15 May at 12:00 PM.

On the morning of 11 May, pickets will be held outside schools, with simultaneous demonstrations at 12:00 PM in Valencia, Alicante, Elche, and Castellón. On 12 May — leafleting, sit-ins in public spaces, and information points at schools and busy areas of local municipalities. On 13 May — demonstrations outside the Palau de la Generalitat in Valencia and regional government buildings in Alicante and Castellón. On 14 May — protests outside the Ministry of Education and regional education offices. Activists also plan to attend public events involving the head of the Valencian government and the Minister of Education, wearing yellow vests.

The strike was announced by the Coordinadora d'Assemblees Docents del País Valencià and the unions STEPV, CCOO, UGT, CSO, COS, CGT, and CNT, along with the Plataforma Docents en Lluita. In a joint statement, they called for negotiations on 40 points of improvement, grouped into three areas.

The first and primary demand is a salary increase of €500 gross per month. Teachers in the Valencian Community receive some of the lowest salaries in the country and have lost around 20% of their purchasing power over the past 19 years. They are also calling for annual CPI indexation, the restoration of the Christmas bonus, and payment for summer work for supply teachers who have completed at least 150 days during the academic year.

The second area concerns reducing class sizes at all levels of education. Proposals include cutting pupil numbers from 25 to 15 in early years and primary settings, from 30 to 25 in secondary schools, and from 20 in upper secondary. This would require 2,000 new posts, including specialists in inclusive education, as well as the immediate replacement of absent teachers.

A further demand is the development of an infrastructure improvement plan. Teachers are calling for schools to be adapted to climate change, new school buildings to be completed, and the repair of educational facilities damaged by the DANA floods to be accelerated.