Madrid education strike: 70% turnout and police charges

Madrid education strike: 70% turnout and five arrested after police charges

The indefinite strike in Madrid's public education sector began with 70% turnout and a trail of tension: an overnight occupation at the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University, police charges on the main road of the Ciudad Universitaria campus and five arrests. The Government Delegation has requested an urgent investigation into the police conduct, while the Students' Union denounces a "savage charge" that left several people injured. Madrid's regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has called the strike "political" and convened "with the Government's complicity".

What teachers are demanding and why they went on indefinite strike

The strike committee — made up of CCOO, CGT, CNT, Solidaridad Obrera, STEM and UGT, along with teaching platforms such as Educación Especial Digna, Menos Lectivas and Queremos FP — is demanding a package covering class sizes, teaching workloads and salaries. They demand the restoration of a maximum of 17 teaching periods per week in secondary and vocational education and 22 in primary, including tutoring duties, department headships and coordination roles. On class sizes, they call for a reduction to 13 pupils per classroom in nursery, 15 in primary, 20 in secondary, 23 in sixth form and 15 in vocational training, with specific adjustments for pupils with special educational needs.

The general secretary of CCOO's Education Federation in Madrid, Aida San Millán, has denounced that teachers in the region earn the lowest salaries in Spain despite taking on more teaching hours, more pupils per classroom and more administrative tasks than in other regions. On pay, the committee demands a monthly increase of 600 euros in the regional teaching allowance and pay equalisation for vocational training teachers and those in Community Services, Therapeutic Pedagogy and Hearing and Speech.

Police charges, five arrests and an urgent investigation

The overnight occupation at the Faculty of Information Sciences ended with police charges and five arrests. Afterwards, protesters took to the main road of the Ciudad Universitaria campus, where, according to the Students' Union, the police charged "without apparent reason". The union's spokesperson, Carlos Ochoa, described a "savage charge" with several injuries and arrests. The Government Delegation justified the action by citing the students' attempt to "break through the police cordon and carry out two attacks on the police", which left two officers with minor injuries, and requested that the head of the National Police in Madrid open an urgent investigation.

On Paseo de la Castellana itself, a group of protesters dressed in yellow — the colour worn by nursery school teachers — sat down under the Eduardo Dato bridge, between Rubén Darío and calle Serrano. The organisers had called for pickets to start at 8:00 and for the actions to continue until midday, when the main event arrived: the rally of all education stages at the Puerta del Sol.

The green tide fills the Puerta del Sol: chants and demands

Thousands of protesters flooded the central square with chants such as "People fighting are also educating" and "Quality public education", and banners reading "Today's education is tomorrow's society". The protest demands more funding for public education, a reduction in pupil-teacher ratios and improvements in teachers' working conditions. On support for special educational needs, the committee calls for one counsellor per 250 pupils, one Community Services professional per school, one Therapeutic Pedagogy teacher per eight pupils and one Hearing and Speech specialist per 12, plus one remedial education teacher per school.

For special education, they propose guaranteeing one professional per six pupils with intellectual disabilities and one per group of between one and four pupils with multiple disabilities, autism spectrum disorder or severe behavioural disorders. They also demand the restoration of welcome classrooms for newly arrived pupils and the scrapping of the current bilingual model to curb educational segregation, with the aim of promoting inclusive, quality public education.

The political standoff: "political strike" versus "insufficient resources"

Madrid's regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has stated that the indefinite strike in Madrid's public education sector is a "political strike" convened "with the Government's complicity". That reading clashes with that of the organisers, who place the conflict in the realm of resources and working conditions. The strike committee maintains it has the support of a large number of educational organisations representing families and pupils.

On infrastructure and occupational health, the demands include a comprehensive sustainable air-conditioning plan, the removal of asbestos, an end to the phased construction of public schools and improvements in workplace risk prevention. They also ask for at least one full-time administrative assistant in every school to free teachers from bureaucratic tasks unrelated to their teaching work.

With this backdrop, the indefinite strike is heading into uncertain territory. If class sizes and salaries do not budge, the conflict is likely to become deadlocked and win support among families. If the regional education authority opens genuine negotiations, the standoff could fizzle out. So far, no one has committed to either.