Non-university public education teachers have once again taken to the streets in Valencia, on the nineteenth day of the indefinite strike, to demonstrate for public education. This week's second demonstration began in front of the City Hall and was attended by 10,000 people, according to the Spanish government's delegation in the Valencian Community. They marched through the city center and ended up next to the Valencian Courts, where the Minister of Education, Carmen Ortí, was appearing to detail the department's accounts for 2026.
The demonstration was called by the three majority teaching unions, STEPV, CCOO, and UGT, with the support of the Coordinator of Teaching Assemblies of the Valencian Country (CADPV) and collectives such as the Valencia firefighters. Green t-shirts and yellow vests were prominent in this mobilization, which is part of a schedule that began 25 days ago, on May 11th, with the start of the educational strike.
Previously, a slow bicycle ride for public education took place from the Ministry of Education to the Torres de Serranos. Additionally, a teacher from CIPFP La Torreta, in Elche, hung himself from a bridge to ask the Consell to resume negotiations.
The spokespersons for the organizing unions demanded that the Ministry of Education send them the definitive document with proposals and convene them to resume negotiations. As the head of the march reached the end of the route, they received an email from the Administration calling the unions to a sectoral table this Friday at 2:00 PM.
“"We have won the narrative absolutely, we have made history"
Marc Candela, spokesperson for union action at STEPV, stated that they await the definitive document to see if progress has been made in salaries and the Valencian language, and that the “teaching struggle” may continue next academic year if no agreement is reached. For her part, the head of Education for CCOO PV, Xelo Valls, argued that the mobilizations have already served to prevent planned cuts and invited the PP to increase funding for public education.
From CCOO, Kilian Cuerda urged the Ministry to stop “deliberately delaying” negotiations and to engage in “real” dialogue with the unions to end this strike, which has been ongoing for four weeks. During the march, the Manifas band performed Moorish marches and songs that the demonstrators chanted, such as “this one yes, this one no, I pay for this strike myself”.
