CNT Madrid || The CNT’s public education workers in Madrid, organized through the CNT-CAM Public Education Section and the CNT-CAM University and Science Working Group , welcome the proposed indefinite strike being promoted by various trade union and social organizations in Madrid’s non-university public education system. The deterioration of working conditions and of public education as a whole in our region is alarming and unsustainable. Therefore, we celebrate that, despite existing difficulties and differences, a vast majority of workers’ and social organizations have managed to coordinate a unified, combative, and forceful call to action to confront this situation.
This effort is also part of what we can now call a new cycle of mobilization in defense of public education throughout the country . The deterioration of public education, budget cuts, and precarious working conditions are problems shared across the entire country . In response, strike calls are becoming increasingly frequent in various regions , notably the recent indefinite strikes led by non-university teachers in Valencia and early childhood educators (ages 0-3) in Madrid.
From our perspective, what is relevant in this new cycle of mobilization is not only the increase in conflict and militancy, but also the distinctly grassroots, assembly-based character that these processes are acquiring . In contrast to the vertical and opaque dynamics typical of traditional union bureaucracies, workers in educational centers are organizing themselves through various types of democratic assemblies, collectively debating the agenda, methods of struggle, and objectives of the movement from below .
However, despite the optimism generated by this surge in mobilization, we believe there is still a long way to go in the fight for a quality public education . So far, the administrations have largely managed to contain the various protests, especially by imposing excessive minimum service requirements that, in some cases, have reached 100% of certain staffing levels. In this way, they have managed to sustain prolonged strikes without these having a significant impact on the daily functioning of schools. Faced with this situation, we ask ourselves a fundamental question: what can we do to break this deadlock?
On July 24, 2026, we will meet, along with numerous organizations and teachers, in a large assembly to debate and vote on the proposal to call an indefinite strike in Madrid’s public education system. At this assembly, the CNT will contribute the following reflections and proposals:
1. Unity and coordination among all workers are key to victory . The broader the participation and the greater the coordination among the different educational sectors, the more difficult it will be to neutralize our capacity to exert pressure. A strike limited to a single professional category or educational level may be more easily withstood by the Administration, but a mobilization that jointly involves teachers and non-teaching staff, permanent, temporary, and outsourced personnel, from early childhood education to university , has a much greater potential to paralyze the system and force a political response. Of course, each level and sector will have its own demands, organizing spaces, and negotiation processes. This is not about homogenization ; it is about coordinating to strike together .
2. We need time . Preparing a strike of this nature requires time, especially in sectors where levels of organization and mobilization are currently lower. We consider it a priority to strengthen strike funds, expand our advocacy efforts, and extend organization within schools before taking action. Therefore, in response to proposals to begin the strike in October 2026, we maintain that January 2027 is a more suitable date to ensure greater participation, sustainability, and success.
For all these reasons, the CNT believes the time has come to take action. We propose calling an indefinite general strike encompassing all levels and sectors of Madrid’s public education system, beginning in January 2027. We are convinced that grassroots organizing, unity across sectors, and a sustained escalation of conflict can transform the accumulated indignation into a force capable of confronting the privatization and austerity policies implemented by the Community of Madrid.
We call upon all trade union, student and social organizations committed to the defense of public education to discuss this proposal in their assemblies and organizational spaces with the aim of promoting the call and advancing in the construction of strike committees, lists of demands and unitary resistance funds .
Madrid’s public education system is in intensive care, and this is a historic opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.
Public Education Section CNT-CAM University and Science
Working Group CNT-CAM
