Spanish police used rubber bullets in the air and carried out actions to disperse striking teachers who blocked the entrance to the Chamber of Commerce in the center of Madrid. An act was being held in the building with the participation of the president of the autonomous region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso.
Hundreds of teachers headed to the building after a protest in front of the regional education department on “Alcalá“ 42. According to “Workers' Committees“, about 1,500 people participated in the demonstration. Police from the special forces set up a cordon in front of the entrance and then took action to clear the exit through which Ayuso left in a car.
EFE news agency reported that rubber bullets were fired into the air to disperse the crowd and establish a security perimeter. The union committee of the strike asked the government delegation in Madrid to investigate the police actions, which it described as “violent and disproportionate”.
Teachers demand negotiations
The indefinite strike in non-university education began on October 14. About 65,000 teachers, who teach more than 666,000 students in the region, can participate.
The main demands are to reduce the number of hours in front of the classroom to 17 per week in secondary education and to 22 in primary education, fewer students in classes, more specialists to support children and a salary increase of 600 euros per month. The teachers are also demanding less administrative work and improved material facilities in schools.
“We don't want to burn the streets, we want to negotiate“, protesting teachers told radio “Cadena Ser“. During the action, chants of "We are teachers, not criminals" were also heard.
New tension after the clashes of October 14
The incident on October 19 is the second serious clash related to the strike. On October 14, a protest on the campus of the "Complutense" University of Madrid ended with five arrests, according to police, and with injured participants, according to union sources.
Ayuso said that the government of Pedro Sánchez and the "anti-democratic left" were encouraging the tension on the streets of Madrid. The union committee rejected the accusations of violence and called for negotiations with the regional government. A new protest demonstration is planned for October 22 in the capital.
Sources: efe.com, rtve.es, europapress.es