A Strike Threatens the Exams for 18,000 Secondary School Teachers

Concern is rising among the 18,000 candidates across the region who are vying for a teaching position in Secondary Education this May. The tribunal staff for these exams have called a strike for Saturday, 31 May, the second date for the Secondary Education exams --the first being this Saturday, 24 May--.

In light of this situation, the Director General of Teaching Staff, Pablo Ortega, has appealed to "responsibility" this Tuesday. "The 18,000 candidates will be assessed by 300 tribunals composed of 1,500 teachers. These individuals will receive, in addition to their monthly salary, the compensations established in Decree 7/2023, dated 27 January, by the Consell," Ortega explained in a statement.

Specifically, tribunal members are compensated for accommodation, meals, and other expenses (€45.74/day), mileage (Cars €0.19/km and Motorcycles €0.078/km), and attendance at tribunals (Chairperson and secretary €90.00/day and Members €78.50/day), as detailed by the Department of Education.

"According to Article 10 of this decree, attendance allowances for tribunal members, due to the non-renounceable nature of their appointment, will only be granted when sessions occur outside normal working hours," the Director General reminded.

Pablo Ortega further explained that tribunal compensations "have increased by an average of €365 since 2022." He noted that the average gross income for a tribunal member in the 2022 exams was €2,552, exceeding this amount in subjects like music, with €2,775, or hearing and language with €2,769.

"In the 2024 exams, the average was €2,917, and in subjects like English, physical education, or hearing and language, they exceeded €3,000," he added, amounts similar to the 2025 exams. In this regard, Pablo Ortega reiterated his call for "rigour" to those calling for the strike "and creating a climate of concern among people who have been preparing for this call for many months."

Additionally, the Director General noted that tribunals do not work on weekends, except for two Saturdays when the two parts of the first test are conducted, and reminded that the Directorate General of Public Function "also does not compensate for sessions held during regular working hours, as the same decree applies to all staff of the Generalitat Valenciana."

Finally, Ortega emphasised that the Department has proposed to the unions to negotiate a new examination system that exempts tribunal members from their teaching duties, replacing them in their schools, while the selection process lasts.