If anything has been made clear by the 23 days of strike this school year, it is that Ustec has decided to test its strength against the Salvador Illa Government. Or rather, to twist its arm. The logic was simple. If the Executive took a step forward, it had to be stopped. If it proposed an agreement, the price had to be raised. And at every meeting, a new demand. The problem with negotiations turned into trenches is that they stop serving to negotiate. Yesterday there was a breakthrough, but also the feeling that Ustec has managed to make the conflict an end in itself.
Read more No one dares to take on the motion
The Government made a first mistake in March, when it wanted to rush to close the 2 billion pact for public schools. It thought that a historic figure would be enough to defuse a long-standing unrest. But money does not always put out fires; sometimes it only lights up the smoke. A significant part of the teaching staff is exhausted. Tired of acting, without sufficient resources, as teacher, psychologist, social worker, nurse, and law enforcement agent in increasingly difficult classrooms. And Ustec immediately understood that there was a union and political goldmine there. Among other reasons because few conflicts wear down a government more than the educational one: families suffer it at home. And because teachers represent no less than 40% of the Generalitat’s civil servants.
The nerve of Ustec is structured by an assembly logic and questionable actions
From there, the union began to occupy the space. It took advantage of its exclusion from the agreement to capitalize on the discontent and reactivate part of its base ahead of next year’s union elections. Then the Government unintentionally lent a hand again. First, by mismanaging the pilot plan of mossos in the playgrounds. Then, by explaining even worse the police infiltration in teachers’ assemblies. They made it easy for Ustec to turn 2 billion beautiful euros into a reason for battle.
At this point, it is difficult to gauge Ustec’s social support, traditionally taken by the most nationalist sector of the teaching staff. The negotiation has ended up revolving more around money than education. Illa has given in by writing checks. But the budget is not elastic. Let them tell us at the expense of which other item these suddenly 600 million more have come out. Moreover, Ustec has pushed the pulse with questionable methods – such as blocking roads or Montserrat – in its attempt to show a weak Government. The union’s nerve continues to be structured by an assembly and pressure logic that too much resembles certain tactics of the procés. The latest: announcing mobilizations during the Pope’s visit.
Read more A conflict with echoes of the independentist ‘procés’
I don’t know who wins “the narrative” this time. Yesterday the unions argued about who gets the fish to the water. I do know who has lost with all this noise: the students. Because of the impact on the school year’s activity. And because from the legitimate right to protest and improve salaries, in some cases, it has moved to attempts to block the system itself.
The horizon will only clear if there are guarantees that peace will be lasting. Are there? Maybe Illa has made another mistake: thinking that the independence movement had abandoned certain levers of the public sector. It seems that some were just waiting for an opportunity to reactivate.
Read more Government and unions reach a preliminary agreement to unlock the educational conflict
