Teachers in Ibiza's public non-university schools are among those covered by a two-day teaching strike taking place across Spain on Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25.

The strike has been called by SINDI-K, the Sindicato Independiente Nacional de Desarrollo e Innovación, with the union SIAU supporting the action in the Balearic Islands and encouraging teaching staff in public education to participate.

The action concerns the full working days of September 24 and 25, including teaching and non-teaching duties and, where applicable, afternoon and night shifts.

A nationwide teaching strike

The strike is not limited to Ibiza or the Balearic Islands.

SINDI-K has called the action for teaching staff in public, non-university education throughout Spain, covering areas including early childhood and primary education, secondary education, vocational training, special education and other non-university teaching services.

SIAU has separately called on teaching staff in the Balearic Islands to support the two-day stoppage.

What are the unions demanding?

SINDI-K says the main issue is the long-term use of temporary appointments for teachers who, according to the union, have spent years occupying positions that are effectively permanent.

The organisation is calling for permanent status for teachers it considers to have been affected by abusive temporary employment, as well as measures relating to transparency and control in the management of teaching employment and education-centre finances.

SIAU has also focused on the issue of temporary employment, calling for what it describes as a real and effective solution for interim teachers and referring to European Union law and case law in support of its position.

These are the unions' stated demands. The reporting of alleged abuse of temporary employment does not itself establish that every temporary teaching appointment covered by the unions' claims constitutes an unlawful arrangement.

How the strike affects schools in Ibiza

The strike applies to teaching personnel in public non-university education.

This means it does not automatically apply to teachers in private or publicly subsidised private schools simply because they are located in Ibiza. The published Balearic minimum-service resolution specifically concerns the teaching staff of public non-university schools.

Public schools are required to remain open during the strike, with designated staff providing the legally established minimum services.

Families should therefore check communications from their individual school for information about how the two days will operate.

Minimum services have been established

The Balearic Government has already published the minimum services that apply during the strike.

At all public education centres covered by the resolution, members of the management team, including the director and secretary, are included in the minimum services.

Additional teaching staff are required according to the type of centre and number of units.

For example, in 0-3 early-childhood centres, the minimum is one early-childhood educator for every three units or fraction.

In the second cycle of early childhood education and in special education centres, the minimum is one teacher for every three units or fraction.

For infant and primary schools, the requirement is one teacher for every three infant-education units or fraction and one teacher for every four primary-education units or fraction.

At secondary schools, the minimum is one teacher for every four units or fraction.

Schools must remain open

The minimum-service arrangements are designed to ensure that schools remain open and that pupils who attend can be cared for.

Individual school management teams are responsible for designating the staff who must provide these services, with the rules providing for voluntary designation where possible and, where necessary, nominative designation or a public draw.

This means a school does not necessarily close simply because a strike has been called.

The actual level of participation and the number of teachers working under minimum services will vary from centre to centre.

Why SIAU is supporting the action

SIAU says it is supporting the strike because of concerns over the continued use of temporary appointments in public administration.

The union argues that teachers who have worked for years, and in some cases decades, on temporary appointments should receive a more definitive solution to their employment situation.

SIAU also forms part of a wider movement of organisations campaigning on temporary employment in Spain.

Its position is separate from the formal fact that SINDI-K is the organisation that called the strike.

The role of European law

Both organisations refer to European Union law and court decisions in their arguments concerning temporary public employment.

SINDI-K has said that its demands are based in part on European legal requirements and judgments concerning the consequences of prolonged temporary employment in the public sector.

The precise legal consequences of those decisions remain a matter for their application within Spanish law and the courts and administrations concerned.

Two full days of action

The strike begins at 00:00 on Thursday, September 24 and runs through 24:00 on Friday, September 25 under SINDI-K's national call.

The action covers the full working day rather than a limited period of teaching hours.

It also applies to non-teaching duties and, where centres have them, afternoon and night shifts.

What this means for families in Ibiza

Families with children at public schools in Ibiza should expect schools to operate under the minimum-service rules during the two strike days.

Individual teachers have the right to participate in the strike, subject to any minimum-service designation that applies to them.

Schools are responsible for communicating their specific arrangements to families.

The impact on lessons and normal school activity will therefore depend on the level of participation at each centre.

A separate education issue at the start of the school year

The strike comes only weeks after the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year in the Balearic Islands.

Ibiza continues to face particular staffing challenges in some teaching positions. The Balearic Government has classified teaching posts in Ibiza as positions of difficult coverage for the 2026-2027 school year, while positions in Formentera are classified as very difficult coverage.

The classification is separate from the strike and is intended to adapt recruitment and staffing incentives to areas where filling posts is more difficult.

What happens next

The two-day strike will begin on September 24.

There will be minimum services at public non-university education centres across the Balearics, including Ibiza, while teachers who are not designated for those services can exercise their right to strike.

The eventual impact on individual schools will depend on how many teachers participate.

For now, the main issue being raised by the unions is the long-running debate over temporary employment and employment stability in public education.

September 24 and 25 at a glance

Dates: Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25, 2026

Scope: Public non-university education

Called by: SINDI-K

Supported in the Balearics by: SIAU

Location: Nationwide, including the Balearic Islands and Ibiza

Duration: Two full working days

Main union demands: A solution to long-term temporary employment and greater employment stability for affected teachers

Schools: Public centres remain open under established minimum-service rules

Minimum services: Vary according to the type and size of school.

Teachers in Ibiza join a national action

For families in Ibiza, the immediate practical point is that Thursday and Friday are strike days for public non-university teaching staff, but schools are not simply being shut across the island.

Minimum services have been established, and individual centres will determine the staff required to provide them.

The wider dispute is part of a national campaign by SINDI-K concerning temporary public-sector employment, with SIAU supporting the action in the Balearic Islands.