“How far are they willing to go?”: The Teachers' Assembly criticizes the PP-Vox pact to exempt teachers from Catalan

PalmThe Teachers' Assembly has reacted strongly to the recent pact between the People's Party and Vox that would reduce the Catalan language requirements for teachers in the Balearic Islands. In its statement, the union points out that "We are witnessing, once again, a new episode in Vox's obsession with the linguistic rights of Catalan speakers and with linguistic freedom, as well as another capitulation by the People's Party to the demands of the far right. The question is unavoidable: how far are they willing to go?"

According to the Teachers' Assembly, the linguistic proficiency of civil servants "is neither a whim nor an imposition. It is, quite simply, the guarantee of citizens' rights. In a community with its own language, ensuring that public employees can serve the public in Catalan is not an ideological choice: it is a democratic obligation."

The union criticizes the portrayal of Catalan as a barrier: "Once again, the PP and Vox are playing together to discredit our own language and give it negative connotations. They speak of Catalan as if it were a 'wall,' an 'exclusionary' language, or an 'imposition.' This narrative is not innocent: it is part of a political strategy aimed at alienating its speakers."

The Assembly believes that the People's Party is failing to uphold its legal and statutory commitments: "We are faced with yet another act of irresponsibility from the People's Party, which is once again backing down to Vox and accepting measures that go against linguistic diversity—enshrined in the Constitution they claim to defend—and also against the mandate. Article 4.3 of the Statute of Autonomy is clear when it establishes the duty of public authorities to guarantee knowledge of the language and promote its use."

The cost of living wall, a deterrent

Regarding the obstacles to filling positions, teachers point out that "if there is a barrier that makes it difficult for people to come and work in the Balearic Islands, it is not the language, but the cost of living and, especially, the exorbitant price of housing for the inhabitants of these islands."

They also point out that teachers without Catalan are already being hired in schools and institutes: "Teachers without Catalan are already coming to work in our schools and institutes, teachers who are joining from the exclusion lists. This is a reality that exists today, although it is not the model we would like or what we consider desirable for our education system, and it is not an extra, real impediment to filling positions, despite the self-serving narrative that some are trying to construct."

Legal requirement

The Assembly reminds the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, of the institutional responsibility to defend the Catalan language: "We must remind President Marga Prohens once again that defending the Catalan language and the rights of Catalan speakers is not an ideological choice. It is a responsibility mandated by law and the Statute of Autonomy, a responsibility she accepted at the time." Finally, they criticize the lowering of requirements for obtaining B2 and C1 certificates: "Regarding the proposal to lower the required grade for obtaining B2 and C1 Catalan certificates, it is simply unacceptable that such a technical and sensitive issue as language accreditation and equivalencies should be based on rigorous academic criteria and studies endorsed by professionals in the field, not on hastily arranged agreements between political parties."

In conclusion, the Assembly states that "what we are seeing is a new attempt to turn language into a political battleground. And in the face of this, we must be clear: defending Catalan is not about excluding anyone; it is about guaranteeing rights, protecting our cultural heritage, and upholding the law."