The course will begin on 7 September at the CAV educational centers and unions have called a school strike a week after the start of the course. The trade unions Steilas, LAB, ELA, CCOO and UGT have called for a "safe and agreed" return to public education classrooms. The strike would affect the entire education of the CAV, both in the public and in the concerted network.
Among the reasons that justify the call for a strike are to request more resources and to demand that the return to the classrooms be agreed with the workers. They have denounced that the Basque Government has prepared a return to the centres without taking into account the workers in the sector, and that the Department of Education has not held any meeting with the unions. They have also pointed out that the measures taken for the return of prisoners are "weak".
"The unions, of course, are in favour of a classroom course that responds to educational needs, in order to protect particularly vulnerable students. Because education is an instrument of social cohesion. But it is clear that we are in a worrying epidemiological situation, so it is essential to plan effective measures to ensure a safe and direct return and to put the means to make this possible", they said.
The call for a strike will continue the protests that began in May in the face of a possible return to the classrooms. Among the requirements are the increase in the staff of teachers and cleaning personnel, the reduction of the number of students per classroom to ten or the reduction of the contents that allow offering a margin for the emotional attention of the students. In this regard, the trade unions consider that the Basque Government’s announcement to hire a thousand more teachers for the centres with the highest ratios "is not enough" and more resources will be required.
The strike, called for on 15 September under the motto "a safe and consensual return in our centres", will give way to mobilizations from next Friday. On Friday, concentrations will be held in the schools and on 10 September the mobilisations will be held in front of the delegations of the three Basque capitals, at 18:00.