Teachers block N-240 in Lleida

Teachers in Lleida blocked the N-240 on Friday morning, extending a week of strike action by public education workers across Catalonia. Local reports said the road was cut shortly after 7:30 a.m. at the entrance to the city near the church of Montserrat, halting traffic on one of Lleida’s main approaches. The action marked the fourth strike day of the week in the education sector and opened Friday’s stoppage in the Ponent, Alt Pirineu i Aran territorial services. Europa Press reported the blockade at about 8:10 a.m., while Segre and Ara said the protest began minutes earlier. ### Where exactly did teachers stop traffic in Lleida? The N-240 was blocked at its passage through Lleida, according to Europa Press, which said teachers cut the road in the city at about 8:10 a.m. Friday. Segre and Ara located the protest near the church of Montserrat, on an entry route into the city. (europapress.es) Ara reported that protesters overturned bins and placed school furniture, including tables and chairs, on the roadway. Those details were echoed in local coverage describing the protest as the first action of the day’s strike in western Catalonia. ### How big was Friday’s action? Europa Press described the participants as teachers on strike and said the road cut came on the fourth day of stoppages in the sector. (europapress.es) The preliminary reports available Friday morning did not give a police count for the Lleida blockade itself. Hundreds of educators were taking part in the broader strike day across Ponent, Alt Pirineu i Aran, according to the regional reports that framed the road action as part of a territorial mobilization rather than an isolated protest. (ara.cat) La Vanguardia said the Lleida blockade “gave the starting signal” to Friday’s strike day in those areas. (europapress.es) ### Why were teachers striking again this week? The unions USTEC, Professors de Secundària, CGT and Intersindical called a new cycle of strikes in late April, with three Catalonia-wide stoppages on May 12, May 27 and June 5, plus two additional territorial strike days in each education district. In Lleida and Alt Pirineu i Aran, the territorial stoppages were set for May 15 and June 4. (lavanguardia.com) On May 12, the first day of the new cycle, Barcelona hosted a large teachers’ march tied to the all-Catalonia strike. La Vanguardia reported that the city police counted 26,000 demonstrators, while organizers put turnout at 80,000, underscoring the gap between official and union estimates that has followed the dispute. (lavanguardia.com) ### Who is leading the dispute with the Catalan government? Iolanda Segura of USTEC has been one of the most visible union voices in the current strike cycle. La Vanguardia reported on May 12 that Segura said Catalan Education Minister Esther Niubó should resign if she did not bring a firm proposal to a sectoral negotiating table that week. (lavanguardia.com) Esther Niubó, in comments reported by La Vanguardia, called a demand for a 400-euro monthly pay increase “maximalist” and said it did not help bring positions closer together. The newspaper said the figure came from remarks by Segura about what could help defuse the planned strikes. (lavanguardia.com) ### What comes next after the N-240 blockade? The next dates already set in the strike calendar are May 27 for another Catalonia-wide stoppage, June 4 for the territorial strike in Lleida and Alt Pirineu i Aran, and June 5 for a further Catalonia-wide strike. Segre and La Vanguardia reported that the rolling plan was announced at the end of April by the four unions behind the mobilization. (lavanguardia.com) Friday’s road blockade in Lleida fits into that published calendar rather than a new call. Any change to the schedule would be expected to come from the unions USTEC, Professors de Secundària, CGT and Intersindical, or from the Catalan education department in further talks with Esther Niubó. (lavanguardia.com) (segre.com)