The actions promoted by the various unions (CSIF, CGT, CCOO, STEA, UGT and ANPE) also seek to maintain “sustained mobilization” and facilitate teachers’ participation from their own schools, jointly highlighting their various demands.
The mobilizations are a response to the results of a survey launched by education unions among nearly 2,000 teachers in Aragon to learn about teachers’ “main concerns” and their willingness to “mobilize”. More than 70% of participants said they would be willing to take part in demonstrations or rallies outside working hours (71.7%) and gatherings at their own schools (70.3%).
FUNDING UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS
The four main priorities identified include opposition to the state funding and/or privatization of non-compulsory education stages, improved pay conditions, increased staffing allocations to meet schools’ needs and lower student-to-teacher ratios.
Alongside these priorities, the survey also identifies other concerns having a direct impact on schools’ day-to-day operations, such as negotiations over extracurricular activities. In this area, the unions say that the “lack of regulations providing legal certainty is creating problems in schools”.
More than 30 schools have already suspended extracurricular activities due to the current situation, highlighting the need to address the issue and find solutions that will “ensure these activities can be carried out safely for schools, teachers and students”.
The unions believe the survey results provide a starting point for maintaining mobilization throughout the school year. They therefore do not rule out promoting stronger actions, particularly during the second term, in response to the demand expressed by a significant part of Aragon’s teaching staff. In this way, the unions say they will continue working to convey teachers’ demands to the Government of Aragon and call for progress on their main requests.
