Valencia teachers shift demands from pay to school conditions

Valencian public-school teachers entered a second week of industrial action with the dispute centered less on headline pay demands than on how schools are staffed and run day to day. The indefinite strike began on May 11 in non-university public education across the Comunitat Valenciana, called by STEPV, CSIF, CCOO and UGT, with ANPE backing the mobilization. Carmen Ortí, the regional education minister, has kept negotiations open while unions say the gap remains wide. A meeting of the Mesa Sectorial de Educación is scheduled for May 19 to discuss the Generalitat’s proposed agreement for improving the Valencian education system. ### If wages started the fight, why are teachers now talking about conditions inside schools? Marchers in Valencia on May 15 carried signs demanding “more resources, fewer speeches” and “we care, but who cares for us?” as the first week of the strike ended with a city-center demonstration. Those slogans, along with union statements in recent weeks, put staffing levels, workloads, bureaucracy and classroom resources at the center of the public case being made by teachers. (europapress.es) CCOO PV said in November 2025 that its mobilization campaign was for “improvements in working conditions” for teachers and school staff, and its May updates said the regional government’s offer had not addressed all of the issues raised by unions. The Generalitat’s own March 26 agenda for the sectoral board referred to the start of negotiations on improving teachers’ working conditions, while a May 7 meeting listed measures to reduce bureaucracy in schools. (europapress.es) ### Which school-condition complaints are unions and teachers putting forward? Europa Press reported on May 14 that unions said the only area approaching their demands was a reduction in bureaucracy, while “very little” had moved on other issues. That complaint points to the daily organization of schools rather than only to payroll: teachers have argued for lighter administrative burdens, more manageable staffing and more workable conditions for planning and teaching. (europapress.es) The Generalitat’s own negotiating documents show the same terrain. A government “decálogo” sent to unions in March referred to staffing configurations, pupil ratios and budget limits, while an April 8 resolution assigned additional teaching staff to public schools for the 2026-2027 academic year under an academic improvement program. Those measures do not resolve the strike, but they show that staffing and resource allocation are part of the formal dispute. (europapress.es) ### How big has the mobilization become in Valencia? More than 35,000 people filled the streets of Valencia on May 15, according to Delegación del Gobierno figures reported by Europa Press, in what unions described as a “historic” turnout. The march followed several days of pickets, sit-ins and local protests after the strike began on May 11. (comunica.gva.es) Levante-EMV reported that the head and tail of the May 15 march were still separated hours after it began, with demonstrators from across the region joining the route into City Hall Square. Students also took part. Three first-year Bachillerato students from Canals told the newspaper they joined to support their teachers’ demands, while also noting mixed views among families. (europapress.es) ### What is the regional government saying in response? Carmen Ortí said on May 4 that unions had presented demands worth more than 2.4 billion euros a year, a figure she said exceeded the region’s capacity given what she called structural underfunding. In a letter to families on May 7, Ortí said the government would not allow final-year secondary students’ evaluations to become bargaining leverage and wrote that “no student or family can be hostage to a union conflict.” (levante-emv.com) A Generalitat negotiating paper published in March said any agreement had to respect “real budget limits,” and linked staffing, ratios and pay improvements to financial sustainability. That position has framed the government’s response as one of phased improvements rather than acceptance of all union demands. ### Where do talks go from here? A May 19 meeting of the Mesa Sectorial de Educación is set to take up the “Proyecto de Acuerdo para la mejora del sistema educativo valenciano,” according to the Generalitat’s education agenda. (europapress.es) An extraordinary meeting on May 18 was also scheduled on the same draft agreement. The unions said on May 15 they expected Ortí to bring a proposal addressing their demands and warned, “No pararemos.” Whether the strike continues will depend on what emerges from those meetings between the Conselleria de Educación and the teaching unions this week. (comunica.gva.es) (europapress.es) (ceice.gva.es)