Minimum services for the strike of concerted education in Galicia

The Department of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training issued the Order of September 4, 2026, determining the minimum services during the strike called for September 9, 2026, within the scope of subsidized education (ensino concertado) in Galicia. The regulation was published in the Official Gazette of Galicia (Diario Oficial de Galicia) number 170, of September 8, 2026, on pages 48279 to 48281.

The strike was called by the trade union organizations FSIE, FESP UGT, CC.OO. Ensino, FeUSO, SNEP de Galicia, and CIG-Ensino across all centers within the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community included in the functional scope of the VII Collective Agreement for private education companies fully or partially supported by public funds. The strike day will be partial, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

What is considered a minimum service

The order establishes that teaching centers remain open during their usual hours to guarantee the custody, safety, and protection of minors. The following are established as minimum services:

• The director or a member of the management team substituting for them in each school center.
• One subordinate in each center, for the control of entry and exit and the surveillance of the facilities.
• 20% of the teaching staff and 20% of the complementary staff.

The regulation justifies the 20% percentage due to the obligation to maintain the custody and protection of the students, which would not be sufficiently guaranteed with the presence of only two people. Furthermore, students in special education centers and special education units in ordinary centers require more specific attention, which reinforces the minimum presence of complementary staff.

Legal framework and designation of personnel

The exercise of the right to strike is conditioned on the maintenance of the essential services defined in Article 2 of Decree 155/1988, of June 9, among which education is included. Article 3 of the aforementioned decree empowers the competent regional ministers to determine, by means of an order and before each strike situation, the minimum activity necessary to ensure the maintenance of these services.

The protection of minors is also supported by Article 39 of the Constitution and Law 4/2011, of June 30, on coexistence and participation of the educational community, which guarantees students the right to their identity, integrity, and personal dignity, and comprehensive protection against all physical and moral aggression.

The nominal designation of the personnel who must cover the minimum services will be made by the management of each center, proceeding to its publication on the notice board of the affected centers. Failure to comply with the obligation to attend these services will be sanctioned in accordance with current regulations, without the order implying any limitation of the rights that the strike regulatory legislation recognizes to the personnel.

Validity and signature

The order, signed in Santiago de Compostela by the councillor Román Rodríguez González, entered into force on the same day of its publication in the Diario Oficial de Galicia, that is, on September 8, 2026.

The strike affects thousands of families and students from subsidized centers throughout Galicia on a key date, the start of the school year, therefore the establishment of these minimum services seeks to reconcile the constitutional right to strike with the maintenance of an essential service such as education and the protection of minors.

Source: Diario Oficial de Galicia, no. 170, September 8, 2026, section III (Other provisions), pp. 48279-48281 (official reference: CVE-DOG qfdeirr4-rhc5-ll84-1hq1-nc849afhvkc2).