Palma teachers launch protest in yellow shirts

Teachers in Palma will be asked to wear yellow shirts to work next Thursday, the first day of the school year, as a new round of protests begins. The Assemblea de Docents teachers’ group proposed the action after a meeting held on Thursday, which activist Madò Farta attended. The shirts are meant to back the demands of educators in the escoletes.

The group says it will step up action during the school year to turn growing frustration in schools into a collective campaign. It has not yet said when further protests will take place or what form they will take.

Classes, staff and housing costs

The Assemblea de Docents blames years of underfunding, cuts and political decisions for crowded classrooms, staff shortages, late cover and unstable teaching teams. It also points to heavy paperwork, weaker purchasing power and problems with school buildings.

It says high living and housing costs are making it increasingly hard for teachers to live and work with dignity. The group also attacks what it calls a tourism-dependent model that has pushed up housing costs and made work more precarious.

Call for a change of course

Teachers are demanding smaller classes, more stable teams, and better pay and working conditions. They also want more guidance and social education staff for inclusive education, and public schools without temporary classroom units.

The group opposes the single-zone policy, the pilot scheme for free choice of language and measures strengthening private and state-subsidised schools at the expense of public education. It wants compliance with the minimum decree and schools’ language projects, while accusing the Govern of challenging Catalan’s central role in education.

The Assemblea says these demands are the minimum needed to protect the right to quality public education in Catalan.

Topics: Education · Social affairs · Tourism

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com