The Xunta sets minimum services for the cleaning of schools in Pontevedra

The Department of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training has established the minimum services that cleaning staff at public schools in Pontevedra must provide during the indefinite strike called starting November 3, 2026. The decision is detailed in the Order of October 27, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of Galicia number 209 on Monday, November 2, 2026, on pages 54936 to 54938 (official reference CVE-DOG: wdrl6oy8-pjb4-nj28-3zm2-por9x3gkgwk7), within section III, Other provisions. The regulation comes into force on the day of its publication and mandates the maintenance of a minimum activity with 30% of the staff assigned to each center.

The call was initiated by the trade union organization CIG, which communicated an indefinite strike for the staff of Serveo Servicios, the company contracted by the Pontevedra City Council to provide cleaning services in early childhood and primary education centers (CEIP), primary education centers (CEP), and early childhood education schools (EEI) within the municipal district of Pontevedra. Therefore, it affects the personnel in charge of this service in school buildings.

The Xunta justifies the intervention based on the need to reconcile the constitutional right to strike, recognized in article 28.2 of the Spanish Constitution, with the maintenance of essential services. The order bases its competence on article 10.2 of Royal Decree-Law 17/1977, of March 4, and Decree 155/1988, of June 9, regarding the provision of essential services in the event of a strike, whose article 3 empowers the competent counselors to determine, by order and for each strike situation, the minimum activity necessary and the personnel required to provide it.

Bathrooms, waste, and dining halls on alternate days

Article 1 of the order specifies the tasks considered minimum services for Serveo Servicios staff in CEIP, CEP, and EEI in Pontevedra:

• Cleaning of bathrooms and toilets on alternate days.
• Removal of organic waste.
• Cleaning of dining halls on alternate days, in the event that this activity is performed by the staff affected by the strike.
• On alternate days, once a week, sweeping and mopping of classrooms and furniture (tables and chairs), as well as cleaning of common areas.

The order specifies that the expression “alternate days” follows a fixed sequence: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday one week, and Tuesday and Thursday the immediately following week, repeating that pattern in successive weeks. The first alternate day on which these minimum services must be provided is Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

30% of the workforce and no longer working days

The tasks must be carried out by 30% of the staff assigned to each center, with a minimum of one person, and for the minimum time essential to execute them. The order expressly establishes that in no case can this imply a working day longer than the usual daily shift.

The company designates and publishes the appointments

According to article 2, the nominal designation of the personnel who will cover the services corresponds to the managers of Serveo Servicios. The company must notify the designated persons and publish the list on the notice board of the educational centers affected by the day off, so that families and staff can consult it.

The protection of minors’ health as an argument

The explanatory part of the regulation maintains that the essential service of education is not reduced to teaching activity, but also includes the supervision and care of boys and girls. It cites article 39 of the Constitution, Law 4/2011, of June 30, on coexistence and participation of the educational community, article 43.1 of the Constitution regarding health protection, and article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Spain through an instrument dated November 30, 1990. The Xunta argues that the intense use of bathrooms and toilets and the generation of organic waste make their removal unavoidable to prevent pests, foci of infection, and the spread of germs.

The order was signed in Santiago de Compostela on October 27, 2026, by the counselor Román Rodríguez González, and provides for the possibility of a subsequent modification if circumstances so require.

The official publication allows families and centers to know in advance that cleaning will be reduced to alternate days and that the company is obliged to display on the notice boards who covers each shift, key information for a service that conditions the day-to-day life of schools in Pontevedra.

Source: Diario Oficial de Galicia, no. 209, November 2, 2026, section III, pp. 54936-54938 (official reference: CVE-DOG: wdrl6oy8-pjb4-nj28-3zm2-por9x3gkgwk7).