Unions and employers unblock the negotiation of the 0-3 nurseries' regional agreement

PalmaAfter half a year of deadlock, unions and employers have reactivated negotiations to move forward with the autonomous collective agreement for 0-3 year old nursery schools. The deadlock was broken this Monday in a meeting that lasted three hours and brought together the ministers of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, and of Labour, Public Function and Social Dialogue, Catalina Cabrer, as well as the unions CCOO, UGT and STEI, and the employers' associations CECEIB and PIMEM.

The first step will be to establish the negotiating committee on June 8 at the General Directorate of Labor. From there, the talks between the parties will formally begin. In the meantime, the strike planned for June 2, called by the 0-3 platform, remains in place.

The development of an autonomous agreement for the 0-3 early childhood education sector was already among the commitments agreed upon last summer to avoid the strike at the outsourced childcare centers in Palma, which was resolved with a monthly salary increase of 400 euros. However, the process stalled when the employers' associations refused to initiate the negotiations planned between the end of November and the beginning of December 2025.

Now, after the unions requested the intervention of the Ministry of Labor, the Government's mediation has allowed dialogue to resume. Cabrer highlighted that the meeting served to take "a very important step" in a sector where, until now, "there was no way to sit down and talk." She also warned that the process "will not be easy," as it is an agreement with "many issues, many stakeholders, and many realities."

The minister explained that her department will host the establishment of the negotiating committee so that the meeting takes place "in a neutral location." Nevertheless, she made it clear that the final outcome will depend on employers and unions, although the Government will continue "building bridges" and providing the necessary legal studies to facilitate the agreement. "We will try to go hand in hand, because it is an issue that occupies and concerns us. We may not be involved in the entire negotiation, but in this first one, yes," she said. The minister also regretted that the strike remains, although she acknowledged that it is a constitutional right.

Salary equalization

The Department of Education has proposed the review of the modules for educational agreements in non-integrated children's centers, meaning those that are not part of integrated centers with stages up to Baccalaureate. The objective is to increase the salary of lower-paid educators and equalize it with that of professionals in integrated centers.

According to Vera, the labor conflict has intensified particularly due to the situation of workers in centers with 0-3 or 0-6 year old classrooms. "This is where we have a discrepancy," stated the counselor, who recalled that these professionals are governed by the state agreement—which is based on the minimum interprofessional wage—and not by the subsidized one, which results in salary scales that are "very low compared to the rest."

Education will convene the subsidized sector's committee to negotiate an update of the modules that will allow these workers to earn the same as those in integrated subsidized centers. The counselor has calculated that the measure could affect approximately 333 classrooms, although he has not specified how many educators would benefit from it. He also assured that the unions have received the proposal favorably. "I have seen a negotiating spirit on both sides. But there are things that depend on employers and unions. The Department can only act as an arbitrator," he pointed out.

The positions

CCOO, UGT and STEI have positively valued the meeting, especially because, after months without progress, there is already a fixed date to start negotiating the agreement. Pepa Ramis, from CCOO, has shown herself to be "moderately satisfied" and has remarked that the future agreement should adapt the state framework to the reality of the Balearic Islands, where different agreements and salary tables coexist, causing differences between workers with the same functions.

Azahar Tortonda, from UGT, has also made a "positive" reading of the agreements reached, while STEI has thanked the Government's mediation "so that employers finally listen to us". On behalf of the employers' association, the secretary of CECEIB, Biel Serra, has applauded the Government's predisposition to "find common ground" and reduce the differences between integrated and non-integrated centers. As he defended, the future negotiation of the agreement can serve to "improve the quality of life and the conditions of workers in the 0-3 sector". He also highlighted that the Balearic Islands could become a pioneering community with this future autonomous agreement and expressed the desire that other territories take it "as a mirror".