Convened by the LAB union, 'ikastola' workers from Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa carried out a one-hour work stoppage this Thursday, May 21st, between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM. Employees from the Udarregi ikastola gathered at the Agerialde entrance with banners and later organized a car caravan through the town to make their demands heard.
The union alleges that the Department of Education of the Basque Government "is evading compliance with the signed Labor Agreement". LAB and the workers are clear about their "total commitment to continue mobilizing until what has been signed is fulfilled" and announce they "will defend what is rightfully theirs".
“"The Department of Education is evading compliance with the signed Labor Agreement. Faced with this situation, the LAB union and the workers are clear: we have a total commitment to continue mobilizing until what has been signed is fulfilled. We will defend what is rightfully ours!"
LAB reminds that the 2023 labor agreement included several commitments, such as the salary equalization of all 'ikastola' workers with those in public network schools by 2027. Furthermore, it foresaw the creation of a technical committee to analyze working conditions, as a first step towards homologating conditions between the two networks. This committee was supposed to complete its work by June 2025, but there is still no sign of it.
The union states that the commitments outlined in the agreement have not been met, and denounces that the Department of Education has not applied the salary increases for 2025 and 2026 to several groups of workers, including early childhood educators, specialized support assistants, administrative staff, and maintenance and cleaning personnel, among others.
LAB has requested the association of 'ikastolas' to address this issue in its negotiations with the Department of Education, and the workers have expressed their concern and readiness to confront this unjust and exclusionary situation.
