Madrid sets minimum services ahead of the SINDI-K teachers' strike

The Regional Ministry of Education, Science and Universities of the Community of Madrid has established the essential minimum services that must be maintained in all non-university public teaching and educational centers during the strike called for September 24 and 25, 2026. The measure is detailed in ORDER 3935/2026, of September 18, published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 (B.O.C.M. No. 226, pages 40 to 42), with official reference BOCM-20260922-13. The order is signed by the regional minister Mercedes Zarzalejo Carbajo and takes effect on the day of its publication.

The origin of the call

The trade union organization Sindicato Independiente Nacional de Desarrollo e Innovación (SINDI-K) notified the labor authority on September 13, 2026, of the strike call, under article 3 of Royal Decree-Law 17/1977, of March 4, on Labor Relations. The strike extends to all teaching staff providing services in non-university public teaching centers throughout the territory of the State, including the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, regardless of their employment status: career civil servants, civil servants in training, interim civil servants, and teaching labor staff.

According to the organizing body, the strike will take place from 00:00 hours on the 24th until 24:00 hours on September 25, 2026. The Regional Ministry justifies the establishment of minimum services based on the need to not deprive students of their right to education, the impact of center closures on parents or guardians—whose attendance at work on business days is limited—and the care of students with special educational needs.

Minimum services, center by center

The order details the minimums required for each type of center:

• In general: director and head of studies; in the absence of either, the center’s secretary.
• Centers with second cycle of Early Childhood and Primary Education: additionally, one teacher for every 50 students or fraction thereof.
• Centers with ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) or Basic Grade Vocational Training Cycles: one additional teacher for every 90 students in these programs or fraction thereof.
• Ordinary centers with students with special educational needs: one teacher or professor for every 25 students with such needs or fraction thereof.
• Grouped Rural Centers: one teacher per locality.
• Children’s Home Zones (Casas de Niños): the zone director and, in each headquarters, one teacher or early childhood educator for every 12 students under one year old, every 18 under two years old, and every 24 under three years old, or fraction thereof.
• Specific Special Education Centers, with or without residency: director, head of studies or, in their absence, the secretary, and one teacher for every 15 students or fraction thereof.
• Early Childhood Schools under direct management of the Community of Madrid and first cycle units in public schools: center director and the same ratios of 12, 18, and 24 students.
• “Ciudad Escolar-San Fernando” educational complex: director and deputy director of the complex, and director or deputy director of the residences.

Negotiation, responsibilities and resources

On September 16, 2026, the Department held a meeting with the strike committee, attended by SINDI-K, to agree on the minimum services. Following the negotiations, the trade union organization expressed its agreement with the minimums set for the maintenance of essential services.

The center director will be responsible for ensuring the opening at the start of the school day and for nominally determining the individuals who will cover the minimum services, as well as providing information on the monitoring of the strike. Failure to comply with the obligation to provide these services will be sanctioned in accordance with applicable regulations, and the order specifies that this does not constitute any limitation of the rights that the strike regulatory framework recognizes for personnel.

Against the order, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal (recurso de reposición) may be filed before the counselor within one month from the day following its publication, or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months, in accordance with Law 39/2015 and Law 29/1998.

Impact for families

The regulation affects virtually the entire non-university public network of the region, from early childhood schools to Special Education centers and residences, over two consecutive working days. Families throughout the Community of Madrid should expect that centers will remain open and that student care will be guaranteed by the personnel designated as minimum services, while the rest of the teaching staff may support the strike.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, no. 226, of September 22, 2026, section I.C “Other Provisions”, pages 40-42 (official reference: BOCM-20260922-13).